MAYORAL CANDIDATE SELECTION PROCESS AND OPEN PUBLIC SUBMISSIONS
BY : CHANON LECODEY MERRICKS ONLINE EDITOR
The African National Congress (ANC) convenes a Special National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on Friday, 10 April 2026, at a decisive moment in the life of our movement and the country.
This Special NEC will deliberate on strategic organisational and political matters, including the evolving relationship with the South African Communist Party in the context of its decision to contest elections independently.
This engagement reflects the maturity, resilience and strategic depth of the ANC as the leader of the broad liberation movement. The ANC remains committed to principled engagement within the Alliance, guided by unity, revolutionary discipline and the historic mission of advancing the National Democratic Revolution in the interests of the people. The outcomes of the Special NEC will be communicated in due course.
The African National Congress is entering a decisive phase of preparation for the 2026 Local Government Elections, a phase that will determine not only electoral outcomes, but the credibility of governance at the level closest to our people.
The ANC, at its special NEC followed by the national Councillor Roll-call, in September 2025 undertook a frank, honest and uncompromising assessment of the state of local government. This assessment confirmed persistent and systemic challenges, including under-expenditure of infrastructure budgets, declining revenue collection, governance instability, institutional weaknesses, and instances of corruption that have undermined service delivery and eroded public trust. These realities demanded decisive political intervention, not incremental adjustment, and hence the adoption of the its Local Government Action Plan (LGAP) to fix local government.
Based on the local government action plan, the ANC has been implementing a structured, phased and time-bound programme of action to resolve service delivery issues, and address infrastructure, governance and financial challenges. All our public representatives, executives in local councils, with the support of provincial and national departments are obliged to respond to issues raised by communities, and we have established a national service delivery war-room to ensure that we remain responsive to work with the people to resolve local problems.
The ANC further reiterates that we previously made an announcement on conferences to be concluded at the end of March 2026 as directed by the NEC. However, in the interest of organisational stability, unity
and continuity, the movement has resolved to allow only those conferences that were duly approved and already underway to finalise their processes. This managed approach ensures that outstanding organisational work is concluded in an orderly manner, while preventing disruptions to the broader electoral programme. No new conferences may be convened beyond this framework. All structures are therefore expected to exercise discipline and adhere strictly to organisational directives as the ANC is seized with the 2026 Local Government Elections programme.
In line with the approved electoral timetable, the ANC confirms that Branch General Meetings (BGMs) for the 2026 Local Government Elections candidate selection process officially commenced on 01 April 2026. All branches are therefore expected to proceed with candidate nomination processes in strict adherence to the guidelines, ensuring broad participation, transparency and organisational discipline.
To further the transformation of developmental local government, the ANC in this election is taking extraordinary steps to ensure leadership deployed to municipalities is capable, ethical, disciplined and accountable. Central to this intervention is a reconfiguration of both the councillor and mayoral candidate selection processes, combining organisational democracy with strategic leadership deployment.
At the level of councillor selection, the ANC reaffirms the centrality of its branches as the basic units of democracy and centres of community organisation. The candidate selection process will be rooted in Branch General Meetings, complemented by structured community engagements that allow residents to interrogate, assess and express confidence in those who seek to represent them as ANC ward councillors.
This process ensures that candidates emerge not only through organisational processes, but through community legitimacy, guided by clear criteria of integrity, capability, political commitment and service to the people. The Electoral Committee, Provincial List Committees and vetting structures will ensure that all candidates meet the required standards, including qualifications, ethical standing and organisational discipline.
This approach represents a decisive break from gatekeeping, manipulation and narrow interests, and reasserts the principle that public representatives must be both products of the movement and servants of the people.
Building on this democratic foundation, the ANC is now formally launching the Mayoral Candidate Selection Process, which introduces a strengthened, centralised and competency-based approach to the identification and deployment of executive leadership in key municipalities.
This programme introduces a fundamental shift in how the ANC governs and deploys leadership. 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. This will ensure uniformity, strategic oversight, discipline and consistency in implementation across all provinces.
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. This approach deliberately expands the pool of leadership beyond our robust internal ANC processes, while remaining firmly rooted in the values and discipline of the organisation.
In line with the ANC’s commitment to deepen democracy and rebuild public confidence, the movement will open a window for public submissions, inviting communities, stakeholders and broader society to propose individuals they believe possess the requisite qualities to serve as mayors. 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.
A rigorous and transparent assessment process will then be undertaken. This includes competency-based interviews, verification of qualifications, background checks, and lifestyle audits where necessary. 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.
Following this process, the National Officials will finalise and ratify mayoral candidates based on their credibility, competence and ability to implement the ANC’s programme of transformation. This will include the strategic configuration of leadership collectives within municipalities to ensure stability, coherence and effective governance.
The process will unfold according to clear milestones:
• 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 programme covers 8 metropolitan municipalities and 22 secondary cities, which are central to economic activity, infrastructure development and service delivery in South Africa. The ANC will approach these deployments with the seriousness and strategic focus they demand.
The ANC will then move into a critical phase of leadership preparation and political consolidation. All selected candidates will undergo structured training and induction, including programmes facilitated through the OR Tambo School of Leadership, to ensure alignment with ANC policies, governance frameworks and the electoral strategy. Candidates will be required to develop clear, implementable local programmes of action for their cities and towns, aligned to the ANC’s 2026 Manifesto.
The announcement of mayoral candidates will be undertaken in a phased and strategic manner, balancing organisational stability with the imperative of building public confidence and unity.
Central to this new approach is the institutionalisation of accountability. Upon assuming office, all ANC mayors will be required to sign binding public Mayoral Delivery Agreements, setting out clear performance targets, timelines and measurable outcomes. These agreements will be subject to continuous monitoring through structured performance reviews.
Where there is underperformance, instability or failure to meet agreed targets, the ANC will act decisively. Intervention mechanisms, including leadership reconfiguration and recall, will be implemented without hesitation. This marks a decisive break from any tolerance for underperformance and signals a firm shift towards a culture of consequence management and delivery.
This implementation programme gives practical expression to the ANC’s understanding that it is engaged in both a battle of delivery and a battle of credibility. It is not enough to deliver, the people must experience, recognise and trust that delivery is taking place.
The ANC further emphasises that this process advances renewal, inclusivity and transformation. Women, young people, experienced cadres and leaders from diverse backgrounds will be actively advanced, ensuring that municipal leadership reflects the character, diversity and aspirations of South African society.
The ANC also notes the national process of ward delimitation, which directly affects our structures, especially branch reconfigurations and representation. The organisation will issue detailed guidelines to assist branches and structures in aligning to new ward boundaries in the next two weeks, ensuring that the candidate selection process proceeds with clarity to ensure organisational coherence. The affected branches will resume their candidate selection BGMs at that point.
As the NEC meets, the ANC remains fully conscious of the broader socio-economic challenges facing our people. Local government remains the frontline of service delivery, economic development, social transformation, and democratic participation. The movement is therefore determined to ensure that municipalities become effective, responsive and people-centred institutions.
The ANC calls on all its structures and members to remain united, disciplined and focused. Internal processes must strengthen renewal, deepen organisational integrity and advance the interests of the people above all else. The ANC remains resolute in its mission. To renew, to correct, to rebuild, and to lead society towards a better life for all.
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