ANC secreatary-general Fikile Mbalula briefed the media at Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg on Thursday.
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The ANC will headhunt and allow public nominations for mayoral candidates,with an aim to expand leadership beyond internal processes,as announced by Fikile Mbalula.Candidates will undergo rigorous assessments,including interviews,background checks and lifestyle audits,with final selections announced by June 2026.The ANC’s NEC will also address tensions with the SACP,which plans to contest elections independently,straining their alliance.The ANC plans to headhunt and allow communities to propose names of mayoral candidates ahead of the local government elections. This was announced by ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula at a press briefing on Thursday at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg,where the party is holding a special national executive committee (NEC) meeting.
“Building on this foundation,the ANC will embark on an intensive national process of identifying and headhunting capable mayoral candidates from across society. This includes experienced public representatives,professionals,community leaders,veterans of government and individuals with proven leadership track records and governance capability,” he said.
Mbalula added that this new approach to choosing mayoral candidates sought to move away from the traditional ANC internal processes.
Up until now,regional dynamics have typically driven appointments to mayoral positions. The party introduced “interviews” for the mayoral positions,and even then,the region’s chairperson would still emerge at the top.
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Speaking to the media on Thursday,Mbalula announced that the party has formally launched its mayoral candidate selection process.
“This programme introduces a fundamental shift in how the ANC governs and deploys leadership,” said Mbalula,adding that “the first phase establishes a centralised implementation machinery within the office of the secretary-general,supported by a dedicated secretariat and working in coordination with the local government interventions committee and other organisational structures.”
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He said the approach to headhunting mayoral candidates is “deliberate” and will expand the pool of leadership beyond internal ANC processes. He,however,emphasised that these new processes will still firmly be rooted in the values and discipline of the organisation.
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The ANC,according to Mbalula,will also invite public submissions from communities,stakeholders and broader society to nominate people they believe can serve as mayor.
“This process will be complemented by structured consultation with provincial and regional leadership to ensure that the final pool of candidates reflects both national strategic priorities and the lived realities of communities,” said Mbalula.
He said the top seven in the ANC will get the shortlist of candidates to be interviewed and that structure will then recommend the mayoral candidates.
Asked if anyone could be considered,even those who are not card-carrying members of the ANC,Mbalula said the NEC of the ANC will have to discuss this and make recommendations.
Mbalula said:
The ANC has not firmed up its decision in relation to people,necessarily,who do not hold membership [of the ANC] and whether they can be co-opted into standing as mayors. I think the national executive committee that will sit in April will guide us on that.
“But we are going to invite society to suggest who they would like to see as mayor in Johannesburg,Ekurhuleni and everywhere. And all these people will be shortlisted based on our criteria and called forward for interviews.
“The top seven will interview,and we will have a small committee,secretariat,that will shortlist based on the criteria,and we will then have a pool of names around April… We are going to invite society to make suggestions to Luthuli House directly,and then we will shortlist the names,” said Mbalula.
He added:
If we are convinced that a person can become a mayor of Ekurhuleni and this person has capabilities and can take this region forward,the organisation must consider that person.
“But also,that person would have raised their hand that ‘I am prepared to serve on the platform of the ANC’. So that we don’t stand with somebody who says,‘I came as a messiah,I saved them.’ You must serve on the platform of the organisation,we don’t want messiahs. We want people who are prepared to serve people and are prepared to serve in the platform of the African National Congress and serve our people very well.”
Mbalula said mayoral candidates will undergo a “rigorous and transparent assessment process” which will include competency-based interviews,verification of qualifications,background checks and lifestyle audits where necessary.
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“These measures are designed to ensure that candidates are not only politically grounded,but possess the technical capability,administrative competence,ethical integrity and leadership capacity required to manage complex municipalities and deliver meaningful change.
“The ANC is clear,leadership must be earned through merit,discipline and capacity. Deployment is not an entitlement; it is a responsibility and a mandate to serve,” he added.
Timeline of the ANC mayoral candidate selection process
• Identification,consultation and longlisting through April 2026.
• Shortlisting,verification and vetting by mid-May 2026.
• Structured interviews across all provinces in early June 2026.
• Finalisation and announcement of mayoral candidates by June 2026.
This,will cover eight metros and 22 secondary cities,which are seen as central to the country’s economic activity,infrastructure development and service delivery.
[WATCH]
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula says the tension between the ANC and SACP is “traumatic”.@news24 pic.twitter.com/zXWqMbB5N8
— Bongekile Macupe (@BongeMacupe) April 10,2026
Meanwhile,Mbalula also announced that the special NEC meeting will discuss the fractured relationship between the ANC and the SACP. He said a decision will be communicated on what is going to happen during what he called a “traumatic” period between the ANC and its alliance partner.
The ANC and the SACP have been at loggerheads since the SACP announced it would contest the upcoming local government elections independently of the ANC. The SACP has already started doing so in by-elections,by the way.
Mbalula said because SACP members hold dual membership,the special NEC will communicate the decision the party has taken in this regard,based on the SACP’s decision to go it alone in the elections.
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