For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Sane Dhlamini.

Making headlines: IEC proceeds with election preparations while it awaits ConCourt decision, SANEF calls on SABC to remove 'illegal' surveillance clause from employees' contracts and, Sudan takes 1st step towards joining International Criminal Court

IEC proceeds with election preparations while it awaits ConCourt decision

The Electoral Commission of South Africa said today it is currently in an “untenable position” as it prepares for the October 27 Local Government Elections, while waiting on the outcome of a Constitutional Court application for a possible deferral of the elections to February 2022.

Following the release of the Moseneke report, which recommended a postponement of the elections owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, the IEC launched an urgent application with the Constitutional Court.

The IEC is also seeking an order that will allow municipal councils to be declared competent until new officials are elected.

On Tuesday, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma proclaimed October 27, 2021 as the date for municipal elections, and the IEC is calling for her to withdraw the notice and set a new date for the elections before February 28, 2022.

SANEF calls on SABC to remove 'illegal' surveillance clause from employees' contracts

"Extremely concerning" and "illegal" were the words which the South African National Editors' Forum used the describe reports of communication interception and staff surveillance at the South African Broadcasting Corporation.

Following reports that employees' contracts contained a clause that allowed the broadcaster to monitor their communication, the forum said the practice should be "condemned in the strongest terms because it disregarded employees' rights".

Sanef has called on the management and board of the public broadcaster to immediately remove the clause and to consider the implications associated with its inclusion.

Sudan takes 1st step towards joining International Criminal Court

The Sudanese cabinet has voted to ratify the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court, a move bringing closer the possibility of former longtime President Omar al-Bashir facing trial for genocide.

Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said the draft bill to join the Rome Statute of The Hague-based court was passed “unanimously”.

Following the military’s overthrow of al-Bashir in 2019, in the wake of mass protests against his rule, Sudan has been led by a transitional civilian-military administration that has pledged to bring justice to victims of crimes committed under the former president.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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