Three political parties' bids to secure another opportunity to register candidates for the elections - a move that could have led to the postponement of the polls - has been dismissed in the Constitutional Court.
The effect of the dismissal is that Joseph Mathunjwa's Labour Party and the Afrikan Alliance of Social Democrats (AASD) will not be able to participate in the elections at all.
The African Congress for Transformation (ACT) - the party of corruption-accused former ANC secretary-general and Free State premier Ace Magashule - will only be able to participate in the regions where it managed to submit candidate lists on time.