Electoral court rules on disputed candidates
4 April 2009, 19:56
The Electoral Court has upheld the disqualification of 110 candidates by chief electoral officer Pansy Tlakula.
The court indicated that it would make its reasons for the decision available in due course because of the urgency of the matter, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said on Saturday.
On Friday Tlakula issued the final list of the parties and candidates who will contest the April 22 election, subject to the Electoral Court's decision.
Tlakula had objected to the candidacy of 110 people whose names were not on the Voters' Roll, arguing that a person qualified to stand in the election was a person who was qualified to vote, and that candidates could not be qualified to vote if they were not registered.
Her decision to disqualify the candidates was overturned by the IEC, whose commissioners disagreed with her.
As the Electoral Act does not stipulate whether or not a candidate should be registered as a voter, the matter was referred to the Electoral Court for clarity.
However the court's decision, which was to have been made by Tuesday, was delayed because of problems with the papers filed.
The 110 were among 297 candidates from 28 political parties to whom Tlakula had objected. - Sapa
The court indicated that it would make its reasons for the decision available in due course because of the urgency of the matter, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said on Saturday.
On Friday Tlakula issued the final list of the parties and candidates who will contest the April 22 election, subject to the Electoral Court's decision.
Tlakula had objected to the candidacy of 110 people whose names were not on the Voters' Roll, arguing that a person qualified to stand in the election was a person who was qualified to vote, and that candidates could not be qualified to vote if they were not registered.
Her decision to disqualify the candidates was overturned by the IEC, whose commissioners disagreed with her.
As the Electoral Act does not stipulate whether or not a candidate should be registered as a voter, the matter was referred to the Electoral Court for clarity.
However the court's decision, which was to have been made by Tuesday, was delayed because of problems with the papers filed.
The 110 were among 297 candidates from 28 political parties to whom Tlakula had objected. - Sapa
Johannesburg
