非洲宪法法院在非洲人国民大会（ANC）与下个月地方选举中被排除候选人的争议中，作出了有利于非国大的裁决，这一判决可能会迫使选举委员会在投票开始前几周重新印刷选票。
Africa’s Constitutional Court ruled in favor of the African National Congress in a dispute over candidates excluded from next month’s municipal elections, a judgment that may force the electoral commission to reprint ballot papers weeks before voting begins.
这项裁决引发了人们对独立选举委员会是否能在11月4日投票前赶上最后期限的质疑。选举委员会周三表示，66%的选票已经印好，其中包括受非国大挑战影响的相当大一部分选票。
The ruling raises questions about whether the Independent Electoral Commission can meet its deadlines before the Nov. 4 vote. The commission said Wednesday that 66% of ballot papers had already been printed, including a significant proportion of those affected by the ANC’s challenge.
非国大向宪法法院提起上诉，反对选举法院此前支持独立选举委员会决定排除其180多名候选人的裁决（其中包括东开普省的一些候选人），此前这些候选人未能赶上提交截止日期。该党辩称，技术故障导致其未能按时提交候选人名单。
The ANC approached the Constitutional Court to appeal an Electoral Court ruling that upheld the IEC’s decision to exclude more than 180 of its candidates, including some in the Eastern Cape province, after they failed to meet a submission deadline. The party argued that a technical glitch prevented it froming the candidates on time.
独立选举委员会官员马塞戈·舍布里周三警告称，有利于非国大的裁决将使委员会手中持有无法再使用的选票，需要付出额外成本重新印刷。
Masego Sheburi, an IEC official, warned Wednesday that a ruling in the ANC’s favor would leave the commission with ballot papers that could no longer be used, requiring them to be reprinted at additional cost.
舍布里在靠近首都比勒陀利亚的森图里安对记者表示：“如果我们把非国大候选人纳入这些市镇，那些已印刷的选票就是无法收回的沉没成本，我们已经把它们印好了。如果法院裁决有利于非国大，为了落实法院的决定，这些选票将不得不重新印刷。”他说，委员会拥有21天的印刷选票窗口期。
“If we were to include the ANC candidates in those municipalities, those printed ballots are sunken costs that can never be recovered, we have printed them,” Sheburi told reporters in Centurion near the capital, Pretoria. “They would have to be reprinted to give effect to the court decision if it finds in favor of the ANC.”The commission has a 21-day window to print ballots, he said.
该判决的影响可能不仅限于非国大，因为其他政党也受到了候选人提交争议的影响。
The implications of the judgment may extend beyond the ANC because other political parties have also been affected by candidate-submission disputes.