As tomorrow’s 5pm deadline to submit candidate nominations by political parties and independents looms, the IEC is facing a court challenge for the deadline to be extended.
The newly formed Labour Party, originating from labour union AMCU, will argue in the Gauteng High Court that contestants need more time.
IEC Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo, “The Labour Party has taken us to court, the Gauteng High Court, challenging the deadline tomorrow. The basis of their claim is that they are newly registered and they have not had enough opportunity to get all the required signatures. Now our view is that the signatures have been part of our statute at least since June last year and they form part of the discourse even when they were being debated in Parliament, so everybody ought to have known about the signature requirement.”
Meanwhile, political parties and independents continue in the time remaining to submit the necessary documentation and their deposits to the IEC.
