Mbalula Fires DA Warning After ConCourt Victory – ‘Nothing Binds Us Forever’
- On Thursday, October 15, 2026, the Constitutional Court ordered the Electoral Commission of South Africa to reinstate 181 African National Congress councillor candidates across six municipalities for the November 4 local government elections, setting aside an Electoral Court judgment upholding their exclusion.
- The dispute centered on the ANC's failure to click a "Submit as Final" software button before the August 28 deadline, which the Electoral Court had upheld as grounds for exclusion. Advocate Daniel Berger successfully argued the button was a technical feature rather than statutory law.
- ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula broke down during a media briefing in Johannesburg, stating, "The Constitution has spoken, and it has spoken for the people of this country," before collapsing and requiring assistance from the room.
- The ruling rescues the governing party in six municipalities, including Mangaung and Port St Johns in the Eastern Cape, preventing the ANC from facing zero-candidate scenarios in regions like Ngquza Hill and Sundays River Valley.
- Democratic Alliance official Ashor Sarupen claimed the ruling will not improve the ANC's electoral prospects, while the governing party faces separate financial scrutiny after the IEC flagged R15.27 million in deficient declarations from the Batho Batho Trust.
21 Articles
21 Articles
Mbalula fires DA warning after ConCourt victory – ‘Nothing binds us forever’
With fewer than three weeks to the elections, the ANC has won its battle to get its 181 candidates back on the ballot. A tearful Fikile Mbalula then turned to the DA, which opposed the ANC’s case, saying their GNU relationship must be reviewed, pointing out that there were other parties in Parliament the ANC could work with.
Emotional Mbalula collapses after ANC's courtroom win
African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Fikile Mbalula broke down in tears and briefly collapsed during a media briefing on Thursday, 15 October, after the Constitutional Court overturned a ruling that had excluded 181 of the party’s candidates from the upcoming local government elections. Mbalula became visibly emotional after the court ruled in the ANC’s favour in its dispute with the... Read more →
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