MEDIA RELEASE
2024-04-12

SUMMARY: The Labour Party of South Africa (Labour Party) slams the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) for delaying its case at the Electoral Court against the IEC’s glitchy online portal. The Party relates highlights of how the case was delayed, as well as the latest delay caused by a condonation application brought by the IEC after the hearing, and the Electoral Court entertaining this application as a preliminary point. The Labour Party shows how these delays will lead to great prejudice to it and those who wish to vote for it.

The urgent application of the Labour Party to the Electoral Court, asking for the IEC’s online portal to be reopened so that it can upload its remaining supporting documents, has still not come to a conclusion. This is because of a series of delays on the part of the IEC in frustrating the court process.

“It is simply ludicrous to think that we approached the [Electoral] Court exactly one month ago today, and still we don’t know where we stand”, said Labour Party Secretariat Krister Janse van Rensburg. “It is a classical example of ‘justice delayedis justice denied’ because every second that ticks away causes our chance of getting relief to become smaller and smaller”, Van Rensburg said.

The Labour Party served and filed its founding affidavit on 12 March 2024 and, while the IEC was supposed to serve and file its answering affidavit on 18 March 2024, it only did so close to midnight on 20 March 2024.

The core focus of the application is to allow the Labour Party to finish uploading its candidate lists and the more than 51 000 supporters signatures it had gathered days before the deadline. The key issue is that the online portal of the IEC became gradually

more unstable towards the deadline of 8 March 2024, and several political parties could not finish uploading their supporting documents on time.

This past Friday, on 5 April 2024, a panel of five judges heard the Labour Party’s application at the Electoral Court. According to the Court’s directive, the Labour Party’s application was heard with similar applications from parties like Hope For The Future, Afrikan Alliance of Social Democrats and African Congress for Transformation as well as two independent applicants. The hearing was heard virtually and, after a full day of presentations from all sides, judgment was reserved.

“Our legal team did an excellent job on Friday”, reported Van Rensburg. “They successfully pointed out to the judges how we were in full compliance with the [Electoral] Act already on 6 March 2024, but that glitches and problems with the IEC’s [online portal] system made that we could not upload all supporting documents on time”, he said. “They also smashed the IEC’s false accusations that we had not paid the deposit, even though we paid the full deposit well within time”, he added.

However, judgment has still not been handed down today, a full week later. Instead, the Electoral Court has elected to entertain a late condonation application filed by the IEC on Tuesday, 9 April 2024. The Labour Party wrote two letters in response to the application, pointing out the absurdity of a condonation application being submitted after a case has been heard. One letter was sent to the secretary and the other to the Judge-President of the Court. Still, late yesterday afternoon, the Court directed the Labour Party to depose of an answering affidavit in response to the IEC’s condonation application.

“We have done everything humanly possible to comply, even though we know that these delay tactics by the IEC will pose great prejudice to not only the Labour Party, but also to the many registered voters who want to vote for us”, he said.

“It being the weekend now, we will probably only hear back from the Court next week. This is clear prejudice and unfair treatment. There is absolutely no way that these elections will be free and fair if this is the way that the IEC and Electoral Court conduct themselves”, said Van Rensburg.

“Many parties who filed their applications after us, have already been heard, but for some reason the Labour Party is being denied. Many other parties were also afforded the opportunity to appear in person, but our matter was relegated to a virtual hearing. It is simply unheard of that a court would entertain a condonation application as a preliminary point several days after the hearing has been held”, he said.

“We are now convinced that the IEC and Electoral Court are infringing the constitutional right to freedom of association of South Africans”, he said. “We will have no reservations to file an urgent appeal to the Constitutional Court if our relief is not granted”, Van Rensburg concluded.

++++ENDS++++

701 words (excluding heading, summary and end matter) 

For more information or to arrange interviews, please send a request to secretariat@labourparty.org.za. 

---

The Labour Party is a social democratic party, very similar to labour parties in other countries. 

The Labour Party is non-racial and therefore it is a home for all progressive and likeminded organisations, including trade unions and civil society organisations that share our values and ethos. 

The Labour Party’s main campaign slogan is: “The power is in your hands”, emphasising the connection to work being done with one’s hands, but also the realisation that voters can bring change by what they do and how they vote. 

The Labour Party emphasises that unemployment remains enemy number one.  

The Labour Party believes that work brings not only social mobility, but also dignity and pride.

Key policy objectives of the Labour Party include:

• Jobs for all, as we believe that there is more than enough work for everybody in South Africa.
• Quality public services and protection of state-owned enterprises to enhance the social wage of all citizens.
• Assurance that the rich mineral and natural resources of South Africa are used to empower South Africans in the broadest possible sense.
• Addressing youth unemployment by a conscription programme for unemployed youth.
• Overhauling the education system to produce the skills required by the economy.
• Diversification of the economy through industrialisation and beneficiation.

The Labour Party will base its policies on Christian val