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Fikile Mbalula Nearly Collapses After ANC's ConCourt Victory
The ruling ensures the ANC stays on the ballot in six municipalities after a technical filing error blocked its candidate lists.
- 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.
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Mbalula Collapses At ConCourt As ANC Wins Back 181 Candidates
[Image: Facebook] Fikile Mbalula collapsed at Constitution Hill on Thursday after delivering an emotional address on the ANC’s Constitutional Court victory over 181 disputed council candidates. The order directs the Electoral Commission of South Africa to put the affected nominations back into the election process. The candidates are spread across Sundays River Valley, Walter Sisulu, Ngquza Hill and Port St Johns in the Eastern Cape, uMshwathi i…
ConCourt clears ANC’s 181 candidate nominations as Mbalula takes aim at DA - Inside Politics
The Constitutional Court has overturned an Electoral Court ruling dismissing the ANC’s appeal over 181 candidate nominations across six municipalities that the party sought to have recognised as validly submitted.
Coverage Details
Total News Sources11
Leaning Left1Leaning Right2Center2Last UpdatedBias Distribution40% Center, 40% Right
Bias Distribution
- 40% of the sources are Center, 40% of the sources lean Right
40% Right
L 20%
C 40%
R 40%
Factuality
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