Chris Gilili|Published
The ANC has abandoned plans to announce its mayoral candidates for the upcoming local government elections, with party leaders citing the limited time remaining before voting and the risk of internal divisions.
ANC chief whip and head of elections Mdumiseni Ntuli told IOL Media that the party would not announce mayoral candidates anywhere in the country, despite previously committing to name them in August and later moving the deadline to September.
With voting scheduled for November 4, 2026, both deadlines have passed, leaving just over two weeks before ballots are cast.
Ntuli explained the decision, saying candidates had been interviewed and assessed before the party decided against announcing its selections.
“We took a decision not to reveal Mayoral candidates everywhere in the country. There were comrades who were taken for interviews; a lot of assessment was done by the national officials.
“But when they were called to Johannesburg for a meeting of candidates, we took a decision that, given the time left before elections take place, we said: ‘Let's not announce any mayoral candidates’.”
ANC prioritises party stability
Ntuli said the party decided that all candidates should return to campaigning to avoid internal fallout or disappointment that could affect its work on the ground.
He added: “You might not have a fallout but a disappointment, which might impact the work of the movement on the ground. One might respond well or badly when they are disappointed after not being elected. Leadership decided it is about the party and not individuals.”
Constitutional Court ruling affects election ballots
The ANC's decision comes after the Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday that the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) must include 181 councillor candidates across six municipalities.
The IEC said it had already put measures in place to comply with the court order.
On Friday, the commission said it would also provide relief to other parties similarly affected.
The IEC said: “Thirty-three million ballots will have to be produced to accommodate the extension of the judicial injunction. Of this new total requirement, 27 million ballots had already been printed.
“However, 6 million ballots of that total requirement had not been printed. This affects the six municipalities whose ballots were affected by the appeal of the ANC that was before the Constitutional Court.”