Sicengu v Electoral Commission of South Africa and Others

The applicant, Sitembiso Dalkanyo Sicengu, was elected as a councillor for Ward 19 of the Mbhashe Local Municipality in the 2016 local government elections. In June 2020, his political party, the ANC, found him guilty of misconduct and suspended him for three years, requesting the Municipal Manager to terminate his council membership in terms of s 27(1)(f)(i) of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act 117 of 1998. The Municipal Manager notified the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, after which a by-election was held in November 2020 to fill the vacancy. A replacement councillor was elected and served until the end of the council term in 2021. The applicant unsuccessfully challenged the declaration of the vacancy in the High Court and later sought review of the ANC’s disciplinary decision in the Gauteng High Court, which was still pending. In 2023, the applicant brought an urgent application in the Electoral Court seeking, inter alia, to nullify the 2020 by-election, to be reinstated as councillor, and to recover lost salary and benefits. A previous application involving the same parties, facts and relief had already been dismissed by the Electoral Court in June 2023.

The application was dismissed with no order as to costs.

The case reaffirms the limited jurisdiction of the Electoral Court under s 20 of the Electoral Commission Act and confirms that the Court cannot grant interdictory or restorative relief falling outside its statutory mandate. It also underscores the application of res judicata and issue estoppel in electoral litigation and the principle that courts will not grant relief that is ineffective or incapable of execution, particularly where completed electoral processes are concerned.