Electoral Court questions Operation Dudula’s preparedness as party loses late candidate list bid

Internal leadership disputes contributed to the political party's failure to meet the IEC deadline. 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 an more time to complete its submissions. The court’s judgment was publicly released on Friday, 2 October 2026. LIVE interactive map, latest news, multimedia and more! View Map 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. The IEC also pointed to its statutory obligations to compile the list of registered political parties eligible to contest the elections by 16 September. The commission further contended that Operation Dudula had been informed that its documents had to be submitted at the designated address or electronically, not the Election House. Electoral Court dismisses Operation Dudula’s case In his judgment, Electoral Court chairperson Dumisani Zondi, who also serves as Deputy President of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), found that handing paper documents to IEC officials at Election House was contrary to the established legal process. Zondi concluded that Operation Dudula was “the author of its own misfortune”. “It allowed its leadership dispute to paralyse its functioning and waited until it was too late to resolve its internal squabbles. “In the meantime, no attempt was made by the applicant’s officials to familiarise themselves with the relevant legislative provisions regulating the applicant’s participation in the upcoming municipal elections. “The mere fact that the applicant’s officials only received training on the use of the commission’s electronic system on the last day of submission of the required documentation says much about the applicant’s level of preparedness for the upcoming elections,” the judgment reads. The Electoral Court subsequently dismissed Operation Dudula’s review application.