The Congress of People filed papers in the Pretoria High Court on Friday in the tussle with the ANC over its name.

The matter, set down for Wednesday, pitted the ANC against some of its former members over the choice of the new party's name in the run up to next year's election.

The ANC believed the name refered to a important event in the ANC's history, while Cope was expected to argue that the name did not belong to the ruling party.

The SABC reported on Thursday that the Independent Electoral Commission would oppose the ANC's challenge because it had final jurisdiction over which name was registered by a party.

Sapa