LOCAL ELECTIONS 2026: Defiant Andile Lungisa claims Nelson Mandela Bay mayoral crown despite ANC appeal plans

With the ANC abandoning plans to announce its mayoral candidates before the 4 November local government elections, Andile Lungisa is insisting that Nelson Mandela Bay’s grassroots structures and communities have already made their choice — and it’s him.

On Tuesday, Lungisa, an ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) member, said: “I am the mayoral candidate for the metro as announced by the President [Cyril Ramaphosa] at the REC [Regional Executive Committee] of Nelson Mandela Bay, which is the position of the ANC National Executive Committee. There’s no one who can take a decision outside this position.”

Lungisa, the incumbent mayor, Babalwa Lobishe — who is also Nelson Mandela Bay ANC regional chair — and the ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) regional secretary, Nontombi Nama, were interviewed by the party’s top leadership as potential mayoral candidates for the metro.

The ANC initially committed to unveiling its candidates in August. It subsequently pushed the announcement to September, with ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula indicating that the final selections would follow an assessment process.

Instead, the ANC presented lists of potential candidates, leaving the final choices unresolved as election day approaches.

The ‘correct decision’ was made

Lungisa endorsed the ANC’s decision to withhold the final candidate list, arguing that an earlier announcement would have sown division among party members and supporters.

“The NEC said we can no longer further divide the ground [supporters]. Let the comrades go and campaign and then after the election we will institute the troika [mayor, speaker and chief whip].

“There’s no one in their right mind who will pronounce against what was decided by the structures of the ANC in Nelson Mandela Bay, demanded by communities where the ANC leads and goes against the Freedom Charter, which says ‘the people shall govern’.”

Lungisa argued that community and branch support had established him as the metro’s leading mayoral candidate.

“Lobishe and them have been distant from the people they lead, hence the communities have resolved on who should be mayor. If you follow our blitzes, you will notice how much I have been campaigning, while Lobishe just accompanies NEC members when they visit.

“She hasn’t led any campaigns by herself. There’s a difference between campaigning and when you move around with your pals. The people of the city have made their choice.”

Lobishe and her spokesperson, Ayabulela Ngoqo, were approached for comment on Lungisa’s claims but had not responded by the time of publication. During a recent Mpuma Kapa TV mayoral debate attended by Lobishe on behalf of the ANC, party supporters chanted “Ace” – the nickname by which Lungisa is widely known in the townships of Nelson Mandela Bay.

Lungisa also claimed he had support from the ANCWL and Youth League. However, ANCWL regional chairperson Nomthandazo Dyantyi said the league had not endorsed any one candidate.

“If I name one person, that would be my personal preference. However, as the ANCWL, we have not convened to discuss which particular candidate we choose among them,” she said.

In July, the ANC Youth League-led Progressive Youth Alliance publicly endorsed Lungisa’s mayoral bid. The ANC Veterans’ League in the region, however, raised concerns about Lungisa’s criminal conviction.

He was convicted of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm after striking DA councillor Rano Kayser with a glass jug during a Nelson Mandela Bay council meeting in 2016, and was sentenced to two years in prison.

Complications along the way

Lungisa’s mayoral ambitions were complicated when the ANC removed him from its internal PR candidate list shortly before the deadline for submitting candidates to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).

He challenged the decision in an urgent application to the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Johannesburg. On 9 October, Judge Nelisa Mali ruled that the ANC’s decision to remove Lungisa was unlawful and unconstitutional, finding that the party had failed to justify his removal so close to the candidate-nomination deadline.

According to the judgment, Lungisa was informed at 12.37pm on 28 August that his name had been removed. This was despite 35 of the ANC’s 60 branches having voted for him and communities in ANC wards having endorsed him.

The court ordered the ANC to reinstate Lungisa to its internal PR list and directed the party to submit his name for inclusion on a supplementary list, if the chief electoral officer afforded the party that opportunity.

‘Important legal questions’

The ANC said it would appeal the ruling to the Constitutional Court.

ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu said the party respected the independence of the judiciary and the constitutional authority of the courts, but believed the ruling raised fundamental questions about the organisational autonomy of political parties and their authority to regulate internal democratic processes.

Bhengu said the selection of the ANC’s candidates for public office was an organisational responsibility governed by its constitution, established guidelines and collective decision-making structures.

“The ANC believes that the judgment raises important legal questions regarding the interpretation and application of these internal rules, particularly the authority to enforce candidate eligibility requirements and uphold organisational discipline.

“These matters warrant further judicial consideration to ensure clarity on the constitutional relationship between political parties, their internal democratic processes and the courts,” she said.

ANC national communications manager Mangaliso Khonza did not respond to follow-up questions about Lungisa’s mayoral status and whether the party would proceed with its appeal.

Lungisa, meanwhile, argued that the ANC would already have acted had it intended to appeal the judgment. DM