The integrity of the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) was thrown into serious doubt just as the 2016 local election approached. The Commission was a subject of litigation in a series of cases, spanning over a three-year period, and involving independents and the African National Congress (ANC) in Tlokwe Municipality, North West Province. In dispute, was the responsibility of the institution in relation to the registration of independents and the accuracy of the voters' roll. The court hearings were unflattering of the Commission on two counts: a bias against independent candidates and complacency in the compilation of the voters' roll. Both lapses stood to benefit the ANC, which had a precarious control over the municipality and faced stiff competition from its rival, the Democratic Alliance (DA). The controversies suggested that the IEC had taken sides in a political rivalry that plagued the Tlokwe Muni