TEARS, COLLAPSE, AND A WARNING TO THE DA: MBALULA'S DAY OF RECKONING AT CONCOURT AS ANC WINS BACK 181 CANDIDATES
By Mpho Dube, Editor-in-Chief
The Azanian | Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.
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JOHANNESBURG - It was emotion, collapse, and then retaliation.
ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula lived through the most dramatic day of his tenure as SG on Thursday at the Constitutional Court, where the ConCourt ruled that 181 ANC candidates must be put back on the ballot for the November 4 local government elections.
The victory saved the ANC from electoral disaster in six municipalities - Sundays River Valley, Walter Sisulu, Ngquza Hill and Port St Johns in the Eastern Cape, uMshwathi in KZN, and Mangaung in the Free State.
The crisis was born from one missed click. The ANC uploaded all candidate details and paid its deposits, but failed to press the final submission button on the IEC's online nomination system before the 5pm deadline on August 28. The IEC warned them. The Electoral Court excluded them. The DA opposed their appeal, hoping to benefit from ANC-free ballots.
The ConCourt, by majority, said the will of the voters must prevail over a technical glitch.
After the judgment, a visibly emotional and sweating Mbalula addressed media outside Constitution Hill.
According to Moneyweb and eNCA, ANC members in court celebrated while Mbalula broke down in tears expressing relief.
During the subsequent media briefing, Mbalula said he was not feeling well before slumping. He collapsed and was assisted by ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu. Reporters were asked to switch off their cameras as the incident unfolded.
Bhengu took over the briefing, telling reporters Mbalula was receiving medical attention.
Earlier, reacting to the ruling, a tearful Mbalula thanked his comrades for holding the line under immense pressure.
"I thank the national officials of the movement who carried this matter with patience. And patience was not easy," he said. His quote that defined the day: "When this movement believed that a right had been taken from our people, we walked up this hill with papers in our hands."
IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya has welcomed the Constitutional Court's ruling, saying it brings certainty. "When you manage elections, you've got to manage difficult moments as well. This for us brings absolute certainty and clarity on the matter that has cast doubt on what is to be done," Moepya said.
"We welcome the decision of the court and we now need to go and get the ballots reprinted where they have been printed."
The task is massive. IEC Deputy CEO Masego Sheburi confirmed 66% of 79 million ballots had already been printed. All ballots in the six affected municipalities must now be destroyed and reprinted in just 18 days before the first special votes.
No sooner had he recovered, than Mbalula turned his fire on the DA.
According to Daily Maverick, a tearful Mbalula fired a stark warning to the DA, which had opposed the ANC's case in court.
With elections three weeks away, Mbalula said the ANC's GNU relationship with the DA must be reviewed, declaring: "Nothing binds us forever."
He pointed out there are other parties in Parliament the ANC could work with - a clear signal that the ANC is rethinking the Government of National Unity after the DA tried to keep 181 ANC candidates off the ballot.
It is a political earthquake. The DA went to court to block ANC candidates, and now the ANC is saying the GNU itself is on the table.
The DA wanted to win municipalities by technical knockout. Instead, it may have lost its place at the national table.
Mbalula collapsed from exhaustion. But he stood up with a message: The ANC is back on the ballot, and it will not forget who tried to keep it off.
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