ELECTION NEWS - Operation Dudula has lost its bid to secure additional time to submit its candidate lists to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) ahead of the 2026 local government elections.
The Electoral Court dismissed a review application brought by the anti-migrant movement-turned-political party, which had challenged the IEC’s refusal to grant it more time to complete its submissions.
The court’s judgment was publicly released on Friday, 2 October 2026.
Operation Dudula misses IEC deadline
Operation Dudula failed to complete some of its party-list submissions and ward-candidate nominations by the IEC’s 5pm deadline on 28 August.
The party subsequently asked the commission for an additional 48 hours, but the request was rejected, prompting the legal challenge.
Operation Dudula sought to have the IEC’s decision reviewed and set aside in relation to its party lists for the Polokwane, eThekwini and Cape Town municipalities, as well as ward-candidate nominations in the City of Tshwane and City of Johannesburg.
Leadership dispute cited as reason
The party argued before the Electoral Court that internal leadership disputes contributed to its failure to meet the deadline.
It said Solomon Kekana was registered on the IEC’s system as its leader and online party administrator.
However, Kekana had been suspended and subsequently expelled, leaving the party unable to access the system.
Operation Dudula said it approached the IEC on 29 May 2026 to have its register updated, but the commission declined to make the changes without a court order.
The organisation subsequently approached the Electoral Court on 21 August, seeking an order to have Kekana removed.
The order was granted on 27 August, a day before the submission deadline, after which the IEC updated the party’s details.
Attempt to submit documents manually
Operation Dudula told the court that it attempted to submit its documents manually at the IEC’s Election House in Centurion.
According to the party, officials rejected the hand-delivered submissions because manual submissions were not permitted at the office.
The party claimed an IEC official proceed to assist its representatives with the online submission process, which reportedly took at least two hours.
Operation Dudula said one of its members subsequently left Election House and travelled to its attorneys’ offices in Arcadia, Pretoria, to continue with the electronic submission.
But system logged the member out when the 5pm deadline arrived, while the submission process was still under way.
It consequently argued that the IEC’s refusal to accept the documents manually was “irrational and unlawful”.
IEC warns of impact on other parties
The IEC opposed Operation Dudula’s application, arguing that granting the party additional time could have wider consequences for the electoral process.
The commission submitted that an order reopening nominations or allowing a single political party to submit nominations after the deadline could materially affect parties and candidates that had complied with the prescribed timetable.
Article: Caxton publication, The Citizen
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