Political parties and independent candidates intending to contest the November 1^st Local Government Elections have until 5pm on Tuesday to submit their nominations and prescribed election deposit.

This forms part of the amended timetable following the official proclamation of the election date by the Minister of Co-operative Governance Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

The Electoral Commission of South Africa has until this Friday to notify parties of any candidates appearing on multiple party lists, final list of candidates will be certified and published next Wednesday. The IEC says it will continue to make decisions based on the law and not on popular sentiment.

The Commission was reacting to the judgement of the Constitutional Court, handed down on Monday, which found that on the basis of section 11.2 of the Electoral Act, it possesses the statutory powers to reopen the candidate registration and amend the electoral timetable in the way it has done.

However, the Democratic Alliance (DA) remains suspicious of the Commission’s motives. With the Constitutional Court’s dismissal of the DA’s application to have reopening of the candidate list declared unlawful, IEC CEO Sy Mamabolo, said clarity as to the impartiality of the commission, has been settled.

“The impartiality of the Commission could not be impugned, the clarity provided by the Constitutional Court on this matter has laid a solid foundation for all parties to prepare for the elections, for its part the commission will continue to discharge its responsibility with decisions rooted in the Constitution and the law,” said the commission CEO, Sy Mamabolo.