The Electoral Court on Tuesday dismissed an application by the ANC in the Western Cape to contest by-elections in the City of Cape Town and the Cederberg Municipality.

The party took the Independent Electoral Commission to court after 12 of its candidates were excluded from standing in the by-elections, to be held on Wednesday. The ANC missed the deadline to register its candidates and to pay their deposits to the Electoral Commission.

The Electoral Court held that on the ANC's own version, section 17 of the Municipal Electoral Act and the timetable set by the Electoral Commission, were not complied with.

Chairman of the Electoral Court and Supreme Court of Appeal Judge Kenneth Mthiyane said elections were characterised by deadlines and stipulated time frames within which certain things must be done.

"Anything short of that would not only lower the standard of the excellence the Electoral Commission has set for itself to deliver free and fair elections, but would open the door to a shambolic free-for-all," the judgment read.