ANC to officially allow branches to pick councillor candidates

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has instructed that elective conferences be paused until after local government elections.

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The ANC will open its councillor candidate selection process from 1 April,with branches required to conclude general meetings by 20 June.Secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has ordered strict compliance with NEC-approved rules and the training of electoral officers under a committee led by Kgalema Motlanthe.The process effectively pauses regional and provincial elective conferences until after the 2026 local polls,which the Electoral Commission of SA says must be held between November 2025 and January 2026.The ANC will,in the coming days,officially open its process to elect councillor candidates ahead of the 2026 municipal elections,with branches set to begin on 1 April.

Secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has outlined the procedures in a letter to provincial leaders and electoral committee chair Kgalema Motlanthe,directing that branch electoral officers be properly trained and that NEC-approved rules and guidelines be strictly followed.

The Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) has said local government elections should take place between November 2025 and January next year.

In Mbalula’s communication,dated 11 March,he directed party leaders to ensure all branch general meetings (BGMs) start the process from April ahead of the elections.

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The BGMs must be concluded by 20 June 2026,according to Mbalula’s letter.

READ | ANC will select ‘ethical,capable cadres’ for 2026 municipal elections – Mbalula

This is often referred to as the “through the eye of the needle” process in the party,where candidates are scrutinised.

Despite having this process in place,the party’s electoral support has nosedived drastically in recent elections.

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This prompted Mbalula,during a media briefing last August,to promise party supporters that it would select “ethical,capable cadres” for the 2026 municipal elections.

In his letter on candidates’ selection,Mbalula wrote:

This instruction effectively means that all ANC elective conferences at regional and provincial levels must be put on hold from 1 April until immediately after the date of the 2026 local government elections,which is yet to be announced by the IEC.

Mbalula’s instruction means that several provinces – including Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal – are only going to have elective conferences after election day. This is because – unlike the Eastern Cape and Limpopo,which have their elective conferences next weekend – other provinces have not pronounced on dates for their elective conferences.

Mbalula said branch electoral officers must be fully trained and equipped by the Motlanthe-led committee and the provincial structures.

Mbalula also attached the ANC’s local government elections candidate selection rules; three standard agendas for the BGMs and community meetings approved by the electoral committee; and BGM and community meetings nomination forms approved by the ANC national executive committee.

“We wish to emphasise that adherence to rules and guidelines approved by the NEC is sacrosanct and deviations of any form shall not be tolerated by the ANC,” Mbalula said.