ANC regions to nominate party mayoral candidates

The ANC has left it up to its provincial structures to appoint its mayoral candidates for the May 18 local government elections.

The ANC Secretary-General, Gwede Mantashe, said yesterday that party structures in each city and region would be expected to submit the names of three mayoral candidates for approval by the provincial executive committees.

Mantashe was briefing the media in Pretoria on the sidelines of the extended ANC National Executive Committee meeting, which ends today.

The committee meeting, which included the ANC's alliance partners - trade union federation Cosatu and the South African Communist Party - was convened to finalise the ruling party's candidate lists ahead of the elections.

The final lists would then be submitted to the Independent Electoral Commission on Monday next week.

It was expected before the meeting that the committee would release the names of mayoral candidates this weekend - especially for Cape Town, which the ANC is seeking to regain from the control of the Democratic Alliance.

Mantashe said this was not for the meeting to decide as the last national party conference directed that provincial executive committees had the power to decide on mayoral candidates.

"There is one formula that we agreed on. That formula is going to be followed to the letter.

"The regions submit three names to the province and the province selects a mayor," Mantashe said.

While refusing to be drawn on who the major regions were proposing as metro mayors, Mantashe said Johannesburg's Amos Masondo and Durban's Obed Mlaba would not be returning, as they had served two terms.

"There are quite a number of mayors in the country who have completed two terms and none of them are coming back.

"It is not an Amos Masondo issue, it is mayors that have served two terms and not standing for third terms," he said.

Mantashe said some mayors would be replaced.

Parks Tau, who is one of the ANC's senior councillors in Johannesburg, is widely tipped to succeed Masondo.

Tau has the support of ANC structures in the city as well as provincial leaders such as Gauteng provincial ANC chairman Paul Mashatile.

In Durban, it is expected that council speaker James Nxumalo will replace Mlaba.

But this issue has not been concluded, because Stanley Makhathini - eThekwini's ANC deputy chairman - is top of the list submitted to Luthuli House this week.

In the DA-led Cape Town, the ANC is planning to put up Cosatu provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich.

The Sunday Times can reveal that the ANC has met Cosatu to discuss Ehrenreich's candidacy - given that he is a full-time employee of the federation.

But Ehrenreich would have his work cut out trying to unseat the DA, which seems to have consolidated its support in the mother city.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that the DA will field Independent Democrats founder Patricia de Lille as its candidate.

Another former trade unionist, Zanoxolo Wayile, looks set to get the nod to continue as mayor of Port Elizabeth.

Also to retain their positions as mayors if the ANC wins are Ekurhuleni's Mondli Gungubele, Tshwane's Kgosientso "Sputla" Ramokgopa and Bloemfontein's Playfair Morule.

Mantashe said most of the provinces had concluded their selection processes, but the Eastern Cape and North West still had problems.

"There were issues raised and we need to visit the two provinces to resolve the problems," Mantashe said.

In the Eastern Cape, he said, the OR Tambo region - which is the largest - remained the only one with unresolved disputes.

Party members in the region have taken the ANC to court over the process leading up to the selection of candidates.