By Akani Nkuna
ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa says a technical glitch in the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) candidate-capture system hindered the party from submitting its full list of candidates for the Local Government Elections (LGE) in November.
Ramaphosa called for a solution to be found for all political parties affected by the technical problems.
“There were some glitches with regard to just the interface with the IEC system. The candidates list was there for the whole country; they were submitted. With regard to those areas, there were some glitches, and this is not only affecting the ANC, there are a number of parties I am told 34,” he said.
“There should be a solution to be found because the technical glitches should not deprive our people from being able to vote for their candidate. And I am certain that a solution will be found; the political party liaison committee as well as the IEC and the parties themselves will be able to find a solution. So, I do believe that a solution should be at hand.”
Ramaphosa was speaking to the media on the sidelines of the ANC’s door-to-door campaign in Tembisa, Ekurhuleni, on Friday. He was joined by the party’s provincial leadership, including Ekurhuleni Executive Mayor Doctor Xhakaza and ANC parliamentary Chief Whip Mdumiseni Ntuli.
The comments come after the ANC failed to submit some of its candidates for the 2026 LGE before the 28 August deadline.
The party, however, rejected claims that it had failed to submit its nominations on time, saying the IEC’s candidate-capture system had affected some of its remaining entries.
The IEC has disputed this, saying its online candidate nomination system remained operational throughout the nomination process, including on the day and in the hours leading up to the 17:00 deadline on 28 August.
The commission said earlier this week that an extension was not foreseeable, stressing that political parties had been given sufficient time to submit their nominations after the system opened on 21 June, weeks before the official nomination period began on 7 August.
Ramaphosa said the system error was limited and that its impact was “containable and manageable”.
He said several parties had been affected, but the ANC was the “huge casualty” because it had attempted to submit a long list of “well over 10 000 candidates” at once.
The ANC president also called for patience as the party finalises its candidate lists.
He said the ANC was ironing out the remaining details and would announce its mayoral candidates once the process was complete.
