UDM takes candidate-list fight to court as Buffalo City ward candidates remain off IEC list - IOL
UDM deputy president Ngabayomzi Kwankwa says the party will pursue legal avenues after its Buffalo City ward candidates were excluded from the certified candidate list ahead of November’s elections.
United Democratic Movement (UDM) deputy president and Buffalo City mayoral candidate Ngabayomzi Kwankwa says the party will pursue every lawful avenue to resolve a candidate-list dispute that has left its ward candidates off the certified list ahead of the local government elections.
Kwankwa said he was currently the only UDM candidate from Buffalo City appearing on the proportional representation (PR) list, while the party’s ward candidates had not been captured on the certified list.
He stressed that this was not because the UDM had abandoned its candidates, saying the party had deliberately decided that only its mayoral candidates would appear on its PR lists.
According to Kwankwa, the decision was taken because PR lists could create competition among party members and shift attention away from the organisation’s broader political objectives.
“For this election, we therefore took a deliberate decision that only our mayoral candidates would appear on the PR lists,” he said.
Kwankwa said the UDM was following the necessary legal processes to resolve the matter concerning its ward candidates and would allow the courts to determine the outcome.
The party has also written to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), through its president, General Bantu Holomisa, setting out its concerns and seeking a resolution.
Kwankwa said the matter remained unresolved despite the party’s efforts, prompting it to explore legal action.
“The decision to explore the legal route is therefore not taken lightly,” he said, adding the UDM would pursue every lawful avenue available to it in relation to the candidate-list challenges.
Kwankwa said he had met with Buffalo City regional leadership to discuss the crisis and how the campaign would continue while the legal process unfolded.
The leadership had agreed that the party would continue with its campaign despite the uncertainty surrounding the candidate lists.
Kwankwa said the candidate-list problems were not confined to Buffalo City and that other UDM regions were also affected.
His position as the party’s Buffalo City mayoral candidate remained unchanged and he would continue campaigning alongside the party’s candidates, volunteers and supporters.
“Even if I currently stand alone on the list, I will not stand alone in the streets,” he said.
The UDM would also explore possible partnerships and other lawful avenues to ensure its candidates had an opportunity to serve in council, according to Kwankwa.
He said the party would meet with all its candidates to explain the situation before resuming its campaign in communities across Buffalo City.
“We will return to the communities. We will return to the streets. We will return to the people.”
He said the UDM’s objective remained securing enough representation to participate in governing Buffalo City after the November 4 elections.
Kwankwa said the party remained committed to its campaign and its candidates despite the candidate-list dispute.
