ANC to outline candidate criteria ahead of 2026 local government elections

The African National Congress’s (ANC) electoral committee, chaired by former President Kgalema Motlanthe, will hold a media briefing on preparations for the 2026 local government elections. 

The briefing will also outline the criteria and required qualifications for ANC candidates, including mayors, speakers and chief whips.

The committee will announce the provincial list committees that will oversee candidate selection in all provinces.

The briefing will take place at the ANC headquarters, Chief Albert Luthuli House, in Johannesburg, Gauteng, at 11 a.m.

“The electoral committee of the ANC will host a media briefing, to be led by its chairperson, former President Kgalema Motlanthe, on the ANC’s preparations for the 2026 local government elections,” the party said.

“The briefing will outline the criteria for the selection of ANC candidates for the 2026 local government elections, including the qualifications and skills required for mayoral, speaker and chief whip candidates,” the statement added.

According to the party, the electoral committee will also announce the provincial list committees, which will coordinate and oversee candidate selection processes across all provinces.

This comes as the race for next year’s local government elections heats up, including Johannesburg’s mayoralty.

At this stage, only two candidates have officially entered the contest - the DA’s federal council chairperson, Helen Zille, and the Patriotic Alliance’s (PA) Kenny Kunene, who currently serves as MMC for Transport in the metro.

Zille previously served as Cape Town mayor and as Western Cape premier.

The ANC, on the other hand, has not yet confirmed whether it will retain Dada Morero or replace him with another high-profile figure.

ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba recently hinted that he would not mind contesting as Johannesburg mayor ahead of the 2026 local government elections.

Mashaba recently told IOL News that if his party could not identify a candidate who shared the same “qualities” as City of Tshwane mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya and City of Ekurhuleni mayoral candidate Xolani Dlamini, he would not mind stepping into the role himself.

This comes after ActionSA opened nominations for its Johannesburg mayoral candidate in preparation for the 2026 elections.

Rumours have circulated suggesting ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa may step down shortly after the G20 Heads of State Summit in Johannesburg, taking place from 22 to 23 November. 

The speculation has been fuelled by claims of internal pressure within the ANC.

The ANC, however, has strongly denied the reports.

Meanwhile, Ramaphosa previously said it pains him that Democratic Alliance (DA)-led municipalities often outperform ANC-run ones in delivering services, urging party councillors to improve their performance.

Addressing the ANC’s “roll call for councillors” event at FNB Stadium in Soweto in September, Ramaphosa encouraged party members to learn from municipalities that are run more effectively.

“I can name them here because there’s nothing wrong with competition. They are often DA-controlled municipalities. We need to ask ourselves, what is it that they are doing better than us?

“And there’s nothing wrong with us saying we want to go and see what Cape Town is doing. We want to go and see what Stellenbosch is doing,” he said.

He added that councillors should improve their skills and performance to advance. 

“We cannot forever stay at the bottom. It hurts me deeply when I continue to see that our municipalities sometimes move even backwards. And you are the people who can improve that. The audit outcomes are important.”

Political analysts said Ramaphosa’s admission that DA-run municipalities often deliver better services than ANC-led ones revealed a truth he has long wanted to express.

Meanwhile, ANC National Chairperson Gwede Mantashe told party councillors that while they are good at singing and creating noise, they lack the ability to manage councils effectively.

“I know we have a lot of singing councillors, but we have no councils. You all sing well, but capacity dololo (nothing),” he said to a rowdy crowd.

simon.majadibodu@iol.co.za

IOL Politics