The Application of the Doctrine of Res Judicata in Political Rights Cases: National Freedom Party v Electoral Commission and Others (2016)

Abstract

On 5 August 2016, the Electoral Court delivered its judgment in the case of National Freedom Party v The Electoral Commission and Others (NFP No 2) and dismissed an application by the National Freedom Party (NFP) to retrospectively amend the electoral timetable. This second case followed an unsuccessful earlier attempt to seek a similar order in the same court in the case of National Freedom Party v Electoral Commission and Another (NFP No 1). In the case under discussion (NFP No 2), the second to seventh respondents were all registered political parties that indicated in their founding affidavit that they supported the cause of the NFP to be included in the 2016 municipal elections.