The ANC says members who stand as independent candidates in the upcoming local elections have automatically expelled themselves from the party.
"We believe that those who have chosen the route of being independent candidates have violated the code of conduct and have automatically expelled themselves," ANC provincial secretary Sihle Zikalala told the media in Durban.
It was recently reported that many disgruntled ANC members had decided to stand as independent candidates because they were not happy with the candidate selection process.
Zikalala said the ANC and its alliance partners would not support independent candidates.
"We are not afraid of them. We know what happened to others who have done so."
The selection process was transparent because it involved community members who were not ANC members, said Zikalala.
"As the ANC, we are proud to have applied the most democratic process despite some challenges which were mainly based on political opportunism and some possible manipulation, which were attended to."
During the previous local elections, many disgruntled ANC members stood as independent candidates.
In the eThekwini Municipality alone, more than 100 ANC members stood as independent candidates.