IEC says it's not to blame for failure by some parties to meet elections deadline

JOHANNESBURG - The Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (EIC) says it’s not to blame for a failure by some parties to meet the deadline to contest the upcoming national elections.

Three political parties dragged the IEC to court to challenge their exclusion from the ballot when the South Africans vote.

The African Congress for Transformation and the African Alliance of Social Democrats want the Constitutional Court to compel the IEC to amend its deadline for submissions for newly registered parties.

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The Labour Party of South Africa upped the ante, calling for the 29 May polls to be postponed.

The IEC’s lawyer, Advocate Michael Bishop, has denied claims by the three parties that the IEC’s portal malfunctioned at the 11th hour.

“That brings us to the real reason for non-compliance. Parties delayed their registration. The second reason for non-compliance is the difficulty of the signature requirements and the third reason is that the parties made mistakes in the way that they used the system.”