ANC to finalise more than 10,000 election candidates within days, says Mbalula - Inside Politics
By Thapelo Molefe The ANC says it has completed interviews for mayoral candidates and is in the final stages of confirming more than 10,000 candidates who will contest the 2026 Local Government Elections, with the selection process expected to be concluded within the next week. Speaking to reporters in Diepsloot on Sunday, ANC Secretary-General Fikile […]
10,000 candidates who will contest the 2026 Local Government Elections, with the selection process expected to be concluded within the next week. Speaking to reporters in Diepsloot on Sunday, ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula said the party would finalise its candidate list within days before shifting its full focus to campaigning and the launch of its election manifesto later this month. The event formed part of the ANC’s voter registration campaign ahead of the local government elections, as political parties across the country urged eligible South Africans to register during the Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC) final voter registration weekend. “We are done with mayoral candidates. This is the last weekend. We are extending to the next week. We are cleaning out. The ANC is doing a marvellous job. We are fielding more than 10,000 candidates across the length and breadth of the country,” Mbalula said. “In about a week’s time we will be done with that. In two weeks’ time, here at Riverside, we are launching our manifesto. ”Mbalula confirmed that the ANC’s manifesto launch had been postponed from 15 August to 23 August to accommodate the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Summit. “Our campaign is led by the President. The President will launch the manifesto here at Riverside. There is significance about this place to the ANC and it’s a delivery project,” he said. He commended ANC volunteers for mobilising communities during the final voter registration weekend and thanked South Africans who responded to the call to register. “We salute our volunteers for the good work, but we also salute our citizens who have answered the call and still believe in democracy because it is important to keep our country alive and democracy alive,” Mbalula said. He said the ANC had intensified its community mobilisation campaign, which it refers to asimvuselelo(reawakening), as part of its preparations for the elections. “We are on the ground and we’re doing what we callimvuselelo– the reawakening of our people all the time. We know there are those who spread despair, but there is nothing more beautiful than democracy,” he said. Referring to Diepsloot, Mbalula said the ANC-led government remained committed to improving infrastructure and public services, including the construction of a new school to replace mobile classrooms currently used by learners. He said residents had acknowledged progress in service delivery while also raising concerns about outstanding projects, particularly the long-awaited construction of the new school. INSIDE POLITICS