LDA INCORPORATED REPRESENTING THE LABOUR PARTY IN ITS CONSTITUTIONAL COURT APPLICATION

LDA Attorneys Incorporated is representing The Labour Party of South Africa (Labour Party) and has, on its behalf, filed an urgent application for direct access to the Constitutional Court of South Africa. The Labour Party is seeking inter alia that the election date be postponed and that the election timetable be set aside.

This is pursuant to a narrow defeat at the Electoral Court, which handed down a judgement on 15 April 2024, dismissing the Labour Party's application. The judgement was decided 3 Judges to 2. The dissenting judgement is crucially on point and in agreement with our client. 

According to the notice of motion, available at www.labourparty.org.za, the Labour Party seeks the following relief:

1) That the exclusion of the Labour Party from the upcoming elections is declared “inconsistent with the Constitution and unlawful”;
2) That the IEC is directed to request the State President to “to postpone the date for the holding of the elections to a new date falling within the period referred to in … the Electoral Act”; and
3) That the “election timetable is set aside”. 

According to the Secretariat of The Labour Party, Krister Janse van Rensburg, the prejudice faced by the Labour Party, many other parties and the voting public at large, should the election date not be postponed is relatively small when considering the effect of postponing the elections. According to The Labour Party, it would be better to have free and fair elections a few weeks later, than to have the elections on 29 May 2024, but the elections are not free and fair.

The Labour Party has invited all registered political parties who wish to support its application, to file answering affidavits in support of its application.

The link to the notion of motion and founding affidavit under case number CCT 113/24 can found at
 labourparty.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/LAB002.NOM-and-FA-CC-Compressed.pdf