Overview
- The Constitutional Court on Thursday ordered the Electoral Commission to reinstate 181 ANC councillor candidates who had been excluded from the November 4 local elections, a legal win the party celebrated.
- After delivering an emotional address at Constitution Hill following the ruling, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula collapsed from emotional exhaustion and is now receiving medical care and recovering.
- President Cyril Ramaphosa has publicly praised Mbalula’s handling of the list dispute and has instructed him to rest until doctors and party leaders clear his return to work.
- The exclusion came after the ANC failed to complete the IEC’s online ‘Submit as Final’ step despite uploading candidate details and deposits, a procedural lapse that fuelled internal criticism and factional pressure on Mbalula.
- The decision resolves the immediate legal barrier for the affected candidates but raises questions about party management, could boost Mbalula’s standing ahead of the elective conference, and may affect ANC unity and local election readiness in the weeks before November 4.