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The African National Congress rejects outright the contemptuous insinuations by Helen Zille that the ANC’s decision to withdraw its application to the Electoral Court for reopening of candidate registration was based on “leaks” from the Constitutional Court.

These insinuations are devoid of any truth. Not surprisingly, Ms Zille does not adduce a shred of evidence to support her utterances. This is a grave insult to the integrity of the Constitutional Court, and the judiciary in general. She should be ashamed of herself. We challenge her to withdraw these spurious allegations.

The ANC approached the Electoral Court after a number of political parties, including the ANC, failed to register all their candidates. This arose as a result of pressure placed on the candidate selection process by Covid-19 restrictions on meetings, amongst others. This was exacerbated by challenges experienced on the IEC’s online candidate registration system.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on holding of free and fair elections was dealt with extensively by the Moseneke Inquiry. The IEC’s application to the Constitutional Court for postponement of the elections is based on the report by former Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke. The report concluded that it would be impossible to hold free and fair elections by 27 October 2021. This conclusion was based on extensive expert medical evidence and submissions by political parties.

The ANC decided to withdraw its application to the Electoral Court in the interests of avoiding a proliferation of litigation before our Courts. We will await the judgment of the Constitutional Court. We reserve our right to pursue further remedies.

Issued by The ANC