Gauteng High Court rules ANC FS candidate list application not urgent
24 April 2019
The Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg has dismissed a bid for an urgent application by aggrieved ANC Free State members to have the party’s list of candidates to the provincial legislature nullified.
Three disgruntled ANC members filed an urgent application with the court to have the provincial list declared invalid, claiming if this was not done it would cause irreparable harm.
The high court on Wednesday dismissed the application, saying it was not urgent.
There has been a public outcry over some of the names that featured on the ANC lists for both the national assembly and some provincial legislatures. Even the party’s own stalwarts raised similar concerns and called on those implicated in corruption and state capture allegations to remove themselves from the lists.
The ANC, which welcomed the ruling, said in a statement it felt vindicated by the outcome.
"We have confidence in the integrity and credibility of our list process and internal democratic processes," said ANC acting spokesperson Dakota Legoete.
The party also welcomed a Mpumalanga court decision to dismiss a bid to have a 2015 provincial conference nullified.
"We hope that these judgments will send a strong message to all our members and structures that organisational matters are best resolved internally," said Legoete.
He also called on party members to stop "dragging" the ANC to court but instead "exhaust" internal processes.
