South Africa's election machinery is printing millions of extra ballots after a court fight over missed deadlines widened to dozens of parties. The Electoral Commission (IEC) has extended a Constitutional Court order — originally covering the ANC — to 32 other political parties in similar circumstances, citing parity of treatment, BusinessDay reported.
The Constitutional Court had ordered the IEC to include 181 ANC candidates across six municipalities whose final candidate lists missed the submission deadline despite compliant nominations and paid deposits.
The extension affects 107 municipalities contesting the November 4 local government elections and requires roughly 33 million additional ballots; 27 million have been printed, with 6.6 million still to produce — a logistical sprint with under three weeks to polling day.
Affected parties may confirm their participation and supplement or substitute names on their lists. ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa said the ruling has 'invigorated' the ANC's campaign.
IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya announced the extension on October 16. The episode leaves a standing question for South African election law: how a deadline can be both firm enough to matter and flexible enough to survive a parity challenge from every party that missed it.
