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The African Transformation Movement (ATM) has moved to intervene in the ANC’S legal battle with the IEC over the party’s disputed candidate nominations for the November 4 local government elections.ATM’s attorneys notified the electoral court on Tuesday that the party intended to intervene in the case and make both written and oral submissions.The intervention comes as the ANC seeks to overturn an IEC decision rejecting its party lists and ward candidate nominations in six municipalities after the commission found that the required information had not been submitted by the 5pm deadline.In papers filed on September 4, the ANC asked the electoral court to declare that the affected nominations had been “timely, lawfully and validly submitted” and to overturn the IEC’s decision.The ANC argues that the required information had been uploaded on the IEC’s candidate management system before the deadline.The party’s application has been set down for hearing on September 15 at 4pm.ATM’s intervention could add another political party’s voice to the dispute as the court considers the ANC’s challenge to the IEC’s handling of its candidate submissions.In its letter, addressed to the electoral court and copied to the attorneys representing the ANC, ATM said it had a “substantial interest” in the matter because it was a registered political party.“We respectfully advise that we hold instructions to intervene,” the letter states.ATM said it intended to make written submissions to the court and present oral argument at the September 15 hearing. Its lawyers asked the court to confirm that the party could file its written arguments by noon on Friday September 11 and participate in the hearing.The move comes as the ANC faces mounting pressure over its candidate-list submission process, which has already caused disruption in three provinces.The party has maintained that the affected nominations were submitted before the deadline and that the problem related to the processing or reflection of information on the IEC’s computer system rather than a failure by the ANC to meet the deadline.The IEC, however, rejected the affected submissions, prompting the ANC to approach the electoral court.The dispute is particularly significant because the outcome could determine whether ANC candidates are allowed to contest in municipalities where the commission rejected the party’s lists and ward nominations.The electoral court has now directed the matter towards a hearing on September 15, with ATM seeking to participate in proceedings alongside the ANC and IEC.ATM’s intervention means the court will now have to consider submissions from another registered political party with an interest in the dispute before determining the ANC’s challenge.The party’s attorneys said their request required the court’s urgent attention.The court is expected to determine whether the ANC’s nominations should be regarded as having been validly and timeously submitted despite the IEC’s rejection of them.TimesLIVE
