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The Democratic Alliance (DA) has intentionally misread the Constitutional Court order delivered on 3 September when the court dismissed the Electoral Commission of South Africa's (IEC) application to postpone the municipal elections to next year.

Beyond misreading the order, the DA also "seeks to impermissibly insert words into the order" and wants to win elections by "elbowing out" competition.

These were the arguments advanced by African National Congress (ANC) deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte in the governing party’s opposing court papers filed on Tuesday.

The papers were filed in opposition of the DA’s Constitutional Court application challenging the reopening of the candidate registration process by IEC.

The ANC argued that the "basis of the DA’s case rests on its interpretation of the Court’s order of 3 September 2021", and that "the fundamental problem with the DA’s case is that it completely ignores the plain language of the order".

Duarte also argued that the opposition party was seeking to "insert words into the order to suit its case - as opposed to reading the order on its own terms".

"The DA reads the order in complete isolation from underlying statutory and constitutional framework in a manner that belies this court’s order and the exercise of power by the Electoral Commission."

The buoyant ANC also insists that the DA’s case is without merit for a number of reasons, including that "the court order [handed done on 3 September] does not prohibit the electoral commission from amending the timetable to allow for a reopening of candidate nomination processes".

"It is quite clear from the language of this court order that the Electoral Commission is permitted to amend the timetable provided it is reasonably necessary for the running of a free and fair election."

On 3 September, the court dismissed the IEC’s application to postpone the upcoming municipal elections to February 2022.

The court also declared as invalid the 27 October date announced by Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

It also ordered that "the timetable published by the Commission on 4 August 2021 shall, notwithstanding the provisions of Section 11(2) of the Local Government: Municipal Elections Act 27 of 2000, remain applicable, save that as soon as possible after the issuing of the proclamation … the commission must … publish such amendments to the current timetable as may be reasonably necessary".

The IEC then announced 18 and 19 September as the dates for the voter registration weekend, and also reopened the candidate registration process which had lapsed at 21:00 on 23 August.

Duarte claimed that the IEC had "acted well within the constraints of the order as well as in terms of its powers in the local government: Municipal Electoral Act 27 of 2000".

"The court could not have been more clear", claims the ANC, "the election time table remains applicable, however, it is subject to change at the discretion of the IEC in terms of section 11(2) as may be deemed reasonably necessary."

"The word applicable does not mean unchangeable. It means that something is capable of or could be of application.

"This is different from the meaning that the DA seeks to ascribe to the order of the court. The DA argues that this Court ordered that the election timetable is inalterable - however, that is a far cry from the plain, ordinary meaning of the word 'applicable'."

'Reckless'

The ANC also accused the DA of making factually devoid allegations against the court, after DA Federal Council chairperson Helen Zille accused it of leaking information regarding its ruling to the ANC.

The ANC labelled the application by the DA as a "reckless" attack on the integrity of the IEC, and called for a punitive costs order against the party.

"In respect to costs, the DA does not come to court with clean hands. It has publicly made spurious, unfounded and vexatious accusations about this court and the ANC in which it claim...

Political parties have welcomed the move to Covid-19 Level 2 lockdown restrictions, as announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday night.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomed the easing of restrictions but called on the president to announce an end date for the National State of Disaster.

"The only possible reason for any further restrictions would be to allow everyone over the age of 18 the chance to get vaccinated. And since the 18 to 35-year-old group have had access to the vaccine since 20 August, this deadline must now be well within our sight," said DA leader John Steenhuisen.

This would allow businesses to prepare to resume full trading.

"South Africans have made extraordinary sacrifices in order to comply with restrictions and regulations that are seldom explained or justified. The president needs to take citizens into his confidence and let them know precisely why these sacrifices must continue," he said.

Steenhuisen also called for restrictions to be adjusted based on the healthcare capacity of regions.

"Infection trends and vaccination rates differ greatly across different parts of the country, and there is no single, neat wave that applies to the entire country or even entire provinces. Coupled with this, some areas have sufficient hospital capacity to no longer warrant restrictions. It is extremely selfish to subject South Africans to more unnecessary economic hardship when the local conditions do not justify this," he said.

Curfew

Under the Level 2 lockdown, the curfew will be in place between 23:00 and 04:00. Non-essential establishments, such as restaurants, bars and fitness centres, will be required to close at 22:00.

The sale of alcohol from retail outlets for off-site consumption will be permitted between 10:00 and 18:00 from Monday to Friday. Alcohol sales for on-site consumption will be permitted as per licence conditions up to 22:00.

Good party secretary-general Brett Herron has welcomed the easing of restrictions but called on citizens to "remain vigilant and cautious" to limit the impact of the fourth wave.

"The third wave has been brutal and protracted, driven largely by the Delta variant of the coronavirus, and it is with a great sense of relief that we are seeing the infections reduce in most parts of the country," said Herron.

"The virus is transmitted by our conduct and our movement. As we approach summer, let us remain committed to containing the spread of the virus so that those industries that rely on summer trade have a hope of trading without restrictions and recovering. This will save jobs and save lives," he added.

Herron also called on all South African adults to get vaccinated.

On Sunday night, Ramaphosa said the move to Level 2 restrictions on Monday would allow more people to attend political gatherings. He said these would be restricted to a maximum of 250 people indoors and 500 people outdoors.

Municipal elections will take place on 1 November.

Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa said the restrictions would allow the party's election campaign "more freedom" due to the relaxation of regulations for gatherings.

"We would like to stress the need to respect all health protocols - such as the wearing of masks and social distancing - to prevent the spread of the virus. The third wave is not yet over, and the virus remains a very real threat to the health and well-being of the people of South Africa," said Hlengwa.

The IFP's national executive committee will be meeting to issue guidelines that will inform how their structures and volunteers will campaign in the coming weeks, said Hlengwa.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) said elections must be held in a free and fair environment, but the continued lockdown restrictions were "contrary to this".

The party said it had not agreed to adhere to a "restricted election environment".

"The EFF has long stopped participating in [Ramaphosa's] so-called consultation meetings because political parties are essentially invit...

President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday that South Africa has benefitted from being part of a collective hoping to advance a world order based on mutual respect and on the equal sovereignty of nations.

Last week Ramaphosa attended the virtual thirtenth BRICS Summit where discussions around the Covid-19 pandemic took center stage.

He noted that BRICS is of immense strategic important to the country and will continue to be so for some time.

“In the 11 years since we joined BRICS, our membership has substantially advanced our national interest. Being a member of BRICS has enhanced our position as an important emerging economy. It has given us access to policy and technical expertise of larger and established economies, as well as access to the support of the National Development Bank (NDB). It has strengthened our activism on the global stage, particularly around reform of multilateral institutions,” Ramaphosa pointed out.

He added that joining BRICS was a milestone in South Africa’s quest to advance its own national development priorities by forging stronger ties with the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China.

He explained that since the formation of the NDB – a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS States and whose regional office is located in Johannesburg – South Africa has been a beneficiary of financing and technical support for projects in transportation, clean energy, environmental protection, water infrastructure and greenhouse gas emissions reduction.

Ramaphosa also highlighted that since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the country has received $2-billion in funding from the NDB under the Covid-19 Emergency Loan Programme to fight the pandemic and to support the country’s economic recovery.

COOPERATION WITH BRICS PARTNERS

There has also been substantial cooperation with the country’s BRICS partners in securing personal protective equipment and cooperation around vaccine access and distribution.

Meanwhile, Ramaphosa explained that cooperation with other BRICS countries, particularly in the field of innovation research, will help accelerate the country’s industrialisation and help it meet its Fourth Industrial Revolution aspirations.

“In this regard, discussions were held around the creation of formal BRICS platforms to share best practice, knowledge and expertise, including the use of open source technology platforms. This includes the establishment of a virtual BRICS Vaccine Research and Development Centre and a BRICS Integrated Early Warning System to forecast future outbreaks of infectious diseases,” he added.

The President said the BRICS partners agreed that developing countries need assistance to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and that donor countries should honour their commitments in this regard.

BRICS partners also agreed to strengthen collaboration in catalytic sectors such as energy, information technology, science, technology and innovation, agriculture and the green economy, in support of economic recovery.

Ramaphosa noted that these are all important sectors identified in the country’s Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan announced last year.

The BRICS partners also highlighted the need for mutual recognition of national documents of vaccination and systems of Covid-19 testing – something that will be vital to cross-border travel in the future.

“The concept of mutually beneficial cooperation will be particularly important in the global economic recovery, where unequal development means that some countries will bounce back quickly, while others will lag behind,” Ramaphosa said.