Labour Party of South Africa and Others v Electoral Commission of South Africa and Others

Five separate review applications were brought before the Electoral Court by four registered political parties (Labour Party of South Africa, African Congress for Transformation (ACT), Afrikan Alliance of Social Democrats (AASD), and All African Allied Congress (AAAC)) and one independent candidate (Dr Sipho Pienaar Malapane). All applicants intended to contest the national and provincial elections scheduled for 29 May 2024 but failed to comply with the Election Timetable issued under s 20 of the Electoral Act 73 of 1998, particularly item 9, which required submission of candidate lists and nominations by 8 March 2024. The applicants blamed their non-compliance on alleged deficiencies and malfunctions in the IEC’s Online Candidate Nomination System (OCNS). The Electoral Commission opposed the applications, contending that the system functioned properly, that most parties and independents complied successfully, and that the applicants’ failures were due to their own lack of preparation and late action.

All five applications were dismissed. No order as to costs was made, with each party ordered to bear its own costs.

The case reaffirms the centrality of strict compliance with election timetables in South African electoral law and underscores the principle that electoral authorities must apply rules even-handedly. It confirms that failures by parties or candidates to meet statutory deadlines due to lack of preparedness will not justify judicial intervention, thereby protecting the integrity, predictability, and fairness of elections.