Follow-Up: South Africa's Ballot Printing Enters Critical Week Ahead of November 4 Local Elections
South Africa's local government elections take place on November 4, and the Electoral Commission (IEC) has entered a critical week of ballot printing: about 6.6 million additional ballots required by a Constitutional Court judgment must be printed by October 30. IEC chief executive Sy Mamabolo acknowledged the ruling had complicated preparations. Special voting is scheduled for November 2 and 3.
The scramble stems from the IEC's October 16 decision. The Constitutional Court had ordered 181 ANC candidates across six municipalities reinstated; the IEC then extended the same relief to 32 other parties that had nominated compliant candidates and paid their election deposits but failed to submit final candidate lists on time. IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya said excluding similarly situated parties would offend the principle of parity of treatment. Thirteen other parties did not qualify, including for failing to pay deposits.
The extension affects 107 municipalities and requires about 33 million ballots, of which 27 million had already been printed. The IEC says it does not anticipate postponing the election and will contact all 32 parties to confirm whether they still intend to contest; qualifying parties may complete or substitute candidate names.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：开普敦桌山与海滨。图片：Wikimedia Commons
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