DA federal chairperson Solly Msimanga expressed confidence on Wednesday that the party’s electoral case will receive an urgent hearing to avoid delaying the election rollout.

On Tuesday the DA launched an urgent Electoral Court application against several opposition parties, accusing them of undermining electoral integrity ahead of the upcoming local government elections.

The legal challenge – directed at ActionSA, the EFF, the MKP, and the GOOD party – centers on allegations that these parties are deliberately concealing their proportional representation (PR) candidates from the public by submitting lists containing just a single name.

The DA argued that by submitting single-name lists during the official candidate nomination window, these parties are exploiting a loophole to bypass public scrutiny. 

According to Msimanga, electoral laws stipulate that parties cannot simply "augment" or fill out their lists after the fact, except under highly specific conditions following the first council sitting.

Msimanga raised questions regarding the consistency of electoral rules, drawing a direct comparison to previous instances where major parties faced disqualification for missing deadlines.

"Why is it that the ANC was excluded from participating [previously] because they did not submit lists, but those who only on a technicality submit one name will be given an opportunity?" Msimanga questioned.

"Why is it that they are now using our list to criticise our candidates, but they are not willing to subject themselves to the same thing?"

The DA is asking the Electoral Court and the Independent Electoral Commission to intervene and provide definitive clarity.

Msimanga outlined the potential legal remedies the party is pursuing, which include, noting that the electoral court must enforce strict, narrow windows for list submissions, restricting parties from adding to their lists until after the first post-election municipal council meetings and must exclude offending parties from participating in specific regions where full lists were not provided.

Defending the timing of the court challenge, Msimanga explained that building a comprehensive, precedent-backed legal application takes time. He dismissed any notions of bad faith or strategic delaying tactics.

"There is no bad timing or bad faith," Msimanga stated.

"What we are doing right now is to make sure that the people of South Africa ultimately get an opportunity to know who they are voting for. The quicker we are able to get information and get resolution on this, the better for the processes of electing new leadership in different municipalities."