South African Constitutional Court ruling indicates that independent candidates may have right to run

It seemed to have passed everyone by, but the Constitutional Court's June ruling on political party funding may have opened the door for independents to run for office in provincial and national elections. On June 21, the Constitutional Court delivered a landmark ruling that affirmed the voter's right to be informed about who was funding political parties and independent ward candidates. [ . . . ] However, in one paragraph of the judgment which dealt with citizens' 'right to vote', Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng affirmed another fundamental right of the individual when it came to political choices, as outlined in Section 19 of the Constitution.Citizens, Mogoeng wrote, have the right to vote in elections for any legislative body, participate in political party activities, but also crucially, "to stand for public office, and if elected, to hold office". "Our Constitution does not itself limit the enjoyment of this right to local government elections," paragraph 29 of the unanimous judgment reads.
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