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Making headlines: Court shuts down UDF’s bid to get IEC to extend candidate nomination deadline; South Africa’s quarterly farm exports surge, US shipments rise; And, Home Affairs urges immediate Smart ID adoption, collection ahead of elections

Court shuts down UDF’s bid to get IEC to extend candidate nomination deadline

The Electoral Court has handed down a decisive judgment dismissing an urgent application by the newly registered United Democratic Front, which sought permission to participate in the upcoming local government elections despite missing the critical candidate nomination deadline.

The applicant, which was officially registered by the IEC on August 24, failed to comply with the August 28 deadline to submit its ward candidate nominations.

Under the 2026 local government election timetable published on August 7, all political parties and independent candidates intending to contest wards were required to submit their nominations by 17h00 on that date.

After the IEC denied a request for an extension, the party approached the Electoral Court on an urgent basis.

During the proceedings, the UDF proposed an alternative relief package. It sought permission to nominate "placeholder" candidates in selected wards, intending to substitute them with permanent candidates before the next relevant deadline in the timetable.

The party argued that because its registration was finalised only four days before the nomination deadline, it lacked sufficient time to properly identify, recruit and secure consent from suitable ward candidates.

South Africa’s quarterly farm exports surge, US shipments rise

South African agricultural exports rose 10% in the second quarter from the same period a year ago, buoyed by higher volumes and better prices.

The total shipments of $4.1-billion was a record for the second quarter, according to Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa. While lower than the same period last year, shipments to the US climbed 56% from the first quarter as the effective tariff rate declined to 12.5% from 30%, the chamber said.

“South Africa has had a solid start to 2026,” Sihlobo said today. “Still, in the current environment of heightened geo-economic tensions, South Africa’s export-oriented agricultural sector must focus on maintaining its existing export markets and expanding into new ones.”

Agriculture has been a rare bright spot for South Africa’s economy with exports rising steadily over the last two decades as a growing citrus industry and a diversification into other types of fruits and nuts added to the country’s corn shipments.

Exports were also helped by improved performance at the Cape Town port, the chamber said. Exports to other African countries accounted for 40% of shipments.

And, Home Affairs urges immediate Smart ID adoption, collection ahead of elections

The Department of Home Affairs has issued an urgent appeal to citizens to replace lost or damaged identity documents ahead of the upcoming local government elections.

To prevent queues at standard offices, the department is directing citizens to local Home Affairs offices and the expanded network of more than 450 participating bank branches nationwide.

Additionally, an appeal has been made to individuals who have already applied for their IDs but have not yet collected them to do so immediately.

To streamline the process, the department advised citizens to visit the official portal at myhomeaffairsonline.dha.gov.za to locate their nearest participating bank branch.

The department is also calling on South Africans who already possess valid identification to act as community ambassadors.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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