A technical submission dispute could shut the ANC out of two Eastern Cape strongholds and cut its PR representation in four councils unless the Electoral Court intervenes.

The ANC faces complete exclusion from the ballot in two municipalities and the loss of major representation in four others if the Electoral Court upholds the Electoral Commission of South Africa's (IEC's) rejection of 181 of the party's candidates for the 4 November local government elections.

The party's appeal hinges on arguing that candidate details uploaded to the system before the 28 August deadline should be deemed validly submitted, even if final administrative submission steps were incomplete when the portal closed.

The political consequences of losing the case could extend far beyond the party's immediate embarrassment over the failed submission.

Of the six municipalities affected, Ingquza Hill and Port St Johns in the Eastern Cape are the most severely hit, with both the ANC's ward and proportional representation (PR) candidates omitted.

In the other four - Mangaung in the Free State, uMshwathi in KwaZulu-Natal, and Walter Sisulu and Sundays River Valley in the Eastern Cape - the ANC's ward candidates remain on the ballot, but its PR lists are in dispute.

ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula on Tuesday, 8 September, acknowledged the seriousness of the situation, but rejected the idea that one individual should be held responsible for the...