The African National Congress (ANC) on Tuesday assured its members and supporters that it will register all its candidates for the November 1 local government elections with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) by September 21.

Last month the ANC filed an application with the Electoral Court requesting that the candidate registration system be reopened so that the party can submit its lists.

The party later withdrew its application pending the Constitutional Court judgment which dismissed the IEC’s application to have the elections postponed to 2022.

ANC National spokesperson Pule Mabe said the party is satisfied that all its processes are firmly on track and proceeding according to schedule to meet timelines as set out by the IEC.

Mabe added that a letter from the party’s Deputy Secretary General Jessie Duarte, makes it clear that in the event that certain disputes have not been resolved on time, these will be attended to beyond November 1.

He explained that the ANC’s immediate task in relation to the upcoming local government elections is civic education, primarily focused on voter registration and to get as many eligible voters as possible to register to vote.

Meanwhile, the ANC expressed concerns about violence in some of the party’s meetings where candidates for ANC councillors are nominated.

The party has condemned the brutal killing of three women in a drive-by shooting in Durban’s Inanda township on Saturday, while attending an ANC community meeting to finalise the selection of candidates for 2021 local government elections.

“The ANC conveys its condolences to the families of the deceased and urges law-enforcement agencies to ensure that perpetrators of this crime are apprehended and made to face the full wrath of our justice system without delay,” Mabe concluded.