ANC scraps mayoral picks in all eight metros as election clock runs down
The party has missed two self-imposed deadlines to name its candidates, and its elections chief now says limited time and campaign risk make a public announcement inadvisable.
The ANC will not name its preferred mayoral candidates in any of the country’s eight metropolitan municipalities before the 4 November 2026 local government elections, after missing two self-imposed deadlines to do so.
Mdumiseni Ntuli, the party’s head of elections, confirmed the change of direction. Candidates had been interviewed and assessed, he said, but limited time and the risk to the campaign made a public announcement inadvisable. As Briefly News reported on 20 October, the party had already missed a deadline in August and a revised target in September. Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula had earlier indicated that final selections would follow a formal assessment process, and the party ultimately released lists of potential candidates without confirming who would stand in each metro.
The reason given for the retreat is internal. According to the reporting, party insiders feared that naming a candidate could fracture local structures and suppress campaigning by the supporters of those not chosen. One insider was quoted as saying that local structures lacked the political maturity to process such a decision without splitting.
Johannesburg shows the problem in miniature. Three figures are in contention for the mayoral candidacy: incumbent mayor Dada Morero, regional chairperson Loyiso Masuku and ANC veteran Reverend Frank Chikane. Settling on one name puts the networks and supporters behind the other two at risk.
The same shape repeats across the metros. In Tshwane, former regional chairperson Kgoši Maepa and Human Settlements MMC Aaron Maluleka are among six shortlisted candidates. Ekurhuleni’s list includes incumbent mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza and regional secretary Jongizizwe Dlabathi. In eThekwini, where the ANC faces pressure from the uMkhonto Wesizwe Party, incumbent mayor Cyril Xaba and former KwaZulu-Natal premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube are both in the running.
For voters, the decision means the party is asking for a metro government without saying in advance who would lead it. For the ANC’s own branch members, it means the fight over who carries the mayoral ticket moves behind closed doors rather than onto a public list, at the point in the calendar when campaigns are supposed to be visible on the ground.
The backdrop is a ballot paper the party has already had to defend in court. On 15 October 2026 the Constitutional Court ruled in the ANC’s favour after the Electoral Commission of South Africa excluded 181 of its candidates across six municipalities. The order compels the IEC to restore 51 ward candidates and 130 proportional representation candidates to the ballot papers. The commission said it would comply and extended similar relief to 32 other affected parties.
