The African National Congress (ANC) can breathe a little easier this week. The party says it has received written confirmation that its 181 candidates will be on the ballot papers in six municipalities. The letter came from the Electoral Commission of South Africa on Sunday, 18 October 2026, just days after a Constitutional Court ruling went the ANC’s way.
It’s an easy story to follow. A court order opened the door, and the commission has now confirmed the ANC can walk through it. Let’s go through what happened, who’s affected and what could come next. It’s simple enough once you see the order of events.
What the i e c confirmed
The letter, sent on Sunday, says the 181 candidates the ANC uploaded before the August deadline meet the requirements to stand in the municipal polls. According to the party, the commission has now finished its processes to put those names on the ballots.
The commission also checked the voters’ roll and found no exceptions for these candidates. None of them shows up on another party’s list either. So the checks came back clean, plain and simple.
There’s more good news for the ANC. It says it doesn’t have to send in any extra documents for these candidates. That keeps the next step easy. The ballots will carry their names, and the commission has confirmed it.
Who is affected
The court ruling brings back 51 ward candidates and 130 proportional representation candidates. That’s 181 names in total.
They’ll be standing in six municipalities across three provinces. A simple table shows where.
| Province | Municipalities |
|---|---|
| Eastern Cape | Port St Johns, Ingquza Hill, Walter Sisulu, Sundays River Valley |
| KwaZulu Natal | uMshwathi |
| Free State | Mangaung metro |
Seeing it laid out like that makes it easy to spot how spread out these areas are.
A quick word on the two types of candidate. Ward candidates are the people you vote for by name in your own area. Proportional representation candidates come from a party list, and those seats are filled based on the share of votes the party wins. The commission’s confirmation covers both kinds, according to the ANC. It sounds like a small detail, but it’s a simple point that carries real weight.
How the dispute started
The Electoral Commission didn’t want these candidates on the ballot at first. It ruled them out of the election contest because, in its view, the ANC hadn’t completed the submission process. The party hadn’t indicated that the information it uploaded was its final list.
The ANC didn’t accept that. The Electoral Court had agreed with the commission, so the party took the matter to the Constitutional Court. Last Thursday, that court’s order turned things around.
Look closely and you’ll see the fight was about one step in the online process. That’s a handy reminder for every party. Finalise your list on the system, and say so clearly. It’s easy to miss a step like that when the deadline is breathing down your neck.
A quick timeline
Here’s a simple timeline, so the sequence stays clear.
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| Before the August deadline | The ANC uploaded its candidate information |
| After the deadline | The commission ruled the candidates out, and the Electoral Court agreed |
| Thursday, 15 October | The Constitutional Court order reinstated the candidates |
| Friday, 16 October | The commission said it would contact 32 other parties |
| Sunday, 18 October | The commission sent the ANC its confirmation letter |
It’s an easy table to scan if you’ve lost track of the dates.
Why a name on the ballot matters
The idea is simple. No name on the ballot, no vote for that person. In a ward race, voters pick a candidate directly. For list seats, the party’s list decides who takes a seat once the votes are counted. So a missing list can change how many seats a party is able to win.
That’s why parties take ballot access so seriously. It’s easy to think of an upload problem as paperwork, but it can decide whether a candidate gets to stand at all.
What Mbalula said
ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula thanked the commission for moving quickly after Thursday’s court order. He also told candidates in the affected municipalities to campaign at full strength.
The vote is next month, so the clock is ticking. Candidates in these six municipalities will want to get in front of voters fast. The party’s message is simple: the legal fight is done, so get out there and campaign.
Pressure on the commission
All of this has landed on the commission’s desk. Earlier reports said it would print about 6.6 million extra ballot papers following the ruling. Other reports said its logistical preparations took a knock, and that it was racing to get the papers ready. Political parties were divided over the ANC’s win too, according to reports.
The commission also has other parties to deal with. On Friday, it said it would contact 32 other parties. These parties had uploaded candidate information and paid their deposits, but hadn’t finalised their lists on the online system. The commission wants to find out whether they’d like their candidates reinstated as well.
That detail is worth watching. It suggests other parties might get a chance to fix the same problem. It’s too early to say how many will take it up, so wait for official updates.
What voters can do
You don’t need to do anything complicated. A few simple habits will do:
- Check your municipality and ward so you know which contest you’re voting in.
- Read the ballot carefully on voting day. Take your time.
- Stick to official sources for news, because rumours travel fast before an election.
The easiest place to start is the Electoral Commission of South Africa website, where the i e c shares election notices and voter information. For anything about the court side of things, the Constitutional Court of South Africa is the official source.
What happens next
The Constitutional Court ruling has cleared the way for 181 ANC candidates in Port St Johns, Ingquza Hill, Walter Sisulu, Sundays River Valley, uMshwathi and Mangaung. The commission has confirmed the checks, and the ANC says nothing more is needed from it.
Now the focus shifts to campaigning and to those extra ballot papers. Other parties with unfinished lists may get their turn, too. For voters, it’s easy to remember: stay informed, check your ballot and make your vote count.
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