Operation Dudula, a political party in South Africa, has lodged a complaint against the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) for their “unfair” exclusion from the ballot paper.
The crux of their complaint lies in a technical glitch that occurred during the application process. While other parties missed the March deadline, Operation Dudula argues that they were failed by an online system that encountered an error when they attempted to upload their national candidate list.
Deputy Secretary-General of Operation Dudula, Isaack Lesole, explains that when they encountered the system error, they promptly escalated the issue to the IEC.
They received communication from the IEC stating that they were attending to the matter but heard nothing until March 26th when they were informed that their application was considered late.
Unlike the other three parties fighting against the IEC’s decision, Operation Dudula’s complaint revolves around a technical glitch rather than a missed deadline.
The other three parties, along with over 20 others, failed to comply with section 27 of the Electoral Act when submitting their candidate lists for provincial and national elections.
After an unsuccessful attempt to resolve the matter in the Electoral Court, they have now taken their fight to the Constitutional Court. The IEC has always been strict with deadlines, but some argue that the fact that many parties were successful in using the system may indicate that the system itself is sufficient.
Election analyst Michael Atkins highlights the difficulty in resolving this issue, stating that if the court finds that the IEC systems were unable to cope adequately with the expected usage near the deadline, they may decide to delay the election to allow the parties time to rectify their submissions.
However, regardless of the outcome, Operation Dudula believes that their exclusion is irrational and unfair to those who wish to vote for them.
Independent analyst Sandile Swana emphasizes that an extension alone may not be sufficient if there is still a chance that parties will encounter issues when submitting their candidate lists.
The competence of the parties in using the system is also called into question, as larger parties were able to successfully register within a matter of days.
It remains to be seen what the outcome of the hearings will be and whether the court will rule in favour of the parties fighting against their exclusion. The right to free and fair elections is of utmost importance, and any decision made by the court will have significant implications for the electoral process in South Africa.
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