WALLIS AJ before the Electoral Court. He was content, without abandoning them, to pursue the litigation relying largely on the IEC’s own investigation. The impact of the established irregularities on the proper conduct of the by-elections must be assessed against this background. [81] In regard to the December by-elections all three identified irregularities were present. They were more seriously affected by the irregularities than the earlier by-election in September. In respect of all seven the IEC urged the Court not to set aside the outcome. On its analysis of the number of voters irregularly registered who had voted in each ward, even if those voters were all assumed to have cast their ballots for the successful candidate, it would not have affected the outcome of the election.61 Although the argument was initially advanced on the basis of the principle set out in section 55 of the Electoral Act and section 65 of the Municipal Electoral Act, it was pursued on the general ground that the analysis demonstrated that the declared outcomes of the by-elections accorded with the broad will of the electorate and should not be disturbed. Reliance was placed on the preamble to the Constitution, which records that government is based on the will of the people. Were the by-elections free and fair? [82] 61 Article 21 of the International Declaration of Human Rights provides that: The outcome in the affected wards, according to the IEC, would have been the following: Ward 1: The winning candidate’s majority would have decreased from 891 to 795. Ward 4: The winning candidate’s majority would have decreased from 42 to 3. Ward 11: The winning candidate’s majority would have decreased from 559 to 553. Ward 12: The winning candidate’s majority would have decreased from 1100 to 1093. Ward 13: The winning candidate’s majority would have decreased from 283 to 34. The Second Applicant finished third in this by-election behind the candidates from the ANC and the Democratic Alliance. Ward 18: The winning candidate’s majority would have decreased from 364 to 356. Ward 20: The winning candidate’s majority would have decreased from 197 to 107. 42