ANC candidate list crisis: What happens if a party wins more seats than it has candidates?

The ANC's problems with submitting candidates ahead of the local government elections have raised a crucial question: what happens if a political party wins more seats than the number of candidates it submitted?

According to independent election analyst Michael Atkins, the answer depends on one key issue: whether the party is actually on the ballot.

Atkins was explaining comments by former Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) vice-chairperson Terry Tselane, who said that if a party is on the ballot but has submitted too few candidates, it can potentially supplement its list if it wins more seats than it has candidates.

"There is one distinction. In fact, there's actually only one question that matters for those municipalities. Is the ANC on the ballot or not?" Atkins said.