Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has set down the 20th of August to hear the Independent Electoral Commissions (IEC) application to have the October elections postponed.
Thursday is the last day for opposing affidavits to be filed. Political parties such as the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the African Transformation Movement (ATM) have since approached the Apex court to resist the electoral commission’s application.
Friday will be the last day for the commission to file a replying affidavit. The application will be heard virtually.
Mixed reactions
Political parties have expressed mixed reactions over the IEC decision to accept the recommendations of the Moseneke Inquiry regarding the postponement of the LGE in South Africa.
INFOGRAPHIC: Moseneke’s report:
Video: Political parties react to IEC’s adoption of the Moseneke report
LGE date proclamation
Last week, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said she is bound by the Constitution and other legal statutes to timeously proclaim the date of the local government elections.
Dlamini-Zuma was briefing the media on developments with regards to the poll which is scheduled for 27 October 2021.
She says her proclaiming the date of the election does not contradict the recommendations of the Moseneke Inquiry nor their acceptance by the IEC.
“The minister is bound to fulfill her statutory and constitutional obligation to timeously proclaim the election date for the elections. There is currently no court order that would excuse the minister from fulfilling her constitutional and statutory obligation. If the minister is forced to proclaim the election date before judgment of a Constitutional Court she may explain that she has been advised to do so to fulfill her constitutional and statutory obligations.”
Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s briefing on elections :
