ANC National Chairperson Gwede Mantashe has called for calm and urged the party’s supporters to allow court processes to unfold over the failure to submit municipal candidate lists on time. His appeal came as the IEC’s court filings directly contradicted the ANC’s claim that a technical glitch prevented the final registration of 181 ward and proportional representation candidates across six municipalities.

ANC’s Technical Glitch Defence

Speaking to the media in Qonce on Sunday, Mantashe said 97 percent of the party’s candidates had been submitted successfully and only three percent remained outstanding. He described the Electoral Court challenge as the appropriate channel to settle the dispute.

“97% of our candidates have been submitted successfully; 3% is outstanding. That is why we have a court case because our report is that there was a technical glitch in the system and there are 45 parties affected. So, let’s wait for the court case to come. When you deal with problems you don’t blame. Once you begin to blame, you will not get a solution,” Mantashe said.

Eastern Cape ANC provincial chairperson Oscar Mabuyane confirmed that the province had adopted its candidate lists and sent representatives to register them at Luthuli House. He said a forensic investigation announced by secretary-general Fikile Mbalula would help the provincial executive account for what went wrong.

“The outcomes of the forensic that the SG has announced will help us account as the PEC, but remember, the lists were registered in HQ, not here. The province did its part; we concluded our lists,” Mabuyane stated.

The administrative blunder has placed Mbalula under mounting internal pressure, with senior leaders reportedly demanding answers over omissions that could cost the party control of key municipalities. The ANC has told the court it is not asking for nominations to be reopened, only for its lists in the six councils to be declared valid.

IEC’s Audit Trail Counters ANC Claims

IEC Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo stated in an affidavit that the commission’s servers recorded 100 percent availability and zero downtime during the final hours before the deadline. He noted that the ANC was sent automated reminder emails on 26 August warning that numerous municipal lists had not yet been submitted as final.

“I deny that at 16h57, the ANC’s administration were logged out of the OCNS and returned to the landing page. This is not borne out by the objective evidence. Even if they were, they could log back in,” Mamabolo said.

The IEC’s audit trail showed no system activity in Ingquza Hill and Port St Johns during the final two hours, with the last recorded capture for both municipalities at 10.10pm on 27 August 2026. In contrast, the ANC successfully submitted its Inxuba Yethemba lists at 16:56 and 16:57, minutes before the 5pm deadline, demonstrating the platform was working.

The matter remains before the Electoral Court, and no ruling had been announced by Sunday evening. Mabuyane confirmed the Eastern Cape Provincial Executive Committee would meet on Monday to study a report from the provincial legislative committee. The court’s decision will determine whether the ANC can field candidates in municipalities such as Mangaung and Port St Johns, a ruling that could reshape the contest ahead of the 2026 local government elections.