ANC veteran Stanley Itshegetseng has launched a court bid to have the party’s regional executive committee (REC) election in the greater Johannesburg region declared invalid and unlawful following unresolved internal disputes with secretary-general Fikile Mbalula.
In papers filed at the Johannesburg high court on March 11, Itshegetseng argues that the December conference that produced the current leadership was marred by irregularities that violated the ANC’s constitution and internal electoral processes.
Itshegetseng and several disgruntled members of the ANC in the region state in an affidavit that concerns raised with Mbalula after the conference were ignored.
He says he formally wrote to Mbalula on December 17 2025, lodging a complaint about the outcome of the regional conference and calling for remedial action.
“I asked for a declaration that the election was unconstitutional, unlawful and in violation of the ANC’s constitutional processes, and for the breaches to be remedied,” he states in the affidavit.
Among the allegations is that the independent agency tasked with overseeing the elections allegedly had ties to the newly elected regional chairperson, Loyiso Masuku, raising concerns about the integrity of the process.
Itshegetseng further claims that the election results were not properly finalised and announced during the conference, and were instead altered afterwards by the agency.
“These irregularities include the failure to announce and finalise the election results during the regional conference … and the alteration of the election results by the election agency after, and outside, the regional conference,” reads the affidavit.
Itshegetseng also alleges that ballot papers were later discovered at the home of the agency’s owner — a development, he suggests, that undermines the credibility of the entire voting process.
He argues that he made multiple attempts to resolve the matter internally within ANC structures before approaching the court.
“I have already attempted on three separate occasions to address the irregular and unlawful election of the regional executive committee internally, within the structures and procedures of the ANC,” he states.
“I specifically requested that immediate interim steps be taken to protect the organisation pending the outcome of my dispute.”
Despite these efforts, he claims he received no response from Mbalula, leaving him with no choice but to seek judicial intervention.
Already, the regional executive committee has taken decisions and actions that are probably irreversible, such as the creation and election of a deputy executive mayor for Johannesburg.
— ANC veteran Stanley Itshegetseng
Itshegetseng is now asking the court to interdict the current REC from taking decisions while the legality of its election is under review.
He warns that allowing the contested leadership to continue exercising power could have lasting consequences, noting that the committee has already taken decisions that may be difficult to reverse.
“Nevertheless, the regional executive committee, whose legitimacy is formally challenged and now under review, continues to exercise governance powers daily,” he states.
“Already, the regional executive committee has taken decisions and actions that are probably irreversible, such as the creation and election of a deputy executive mayor for Johannesburg.”
At the centre of the dispute is the alleged post-conference alteration of results to comply with the ANC’s gender representation requirements.
According to Itshegetseng, the justification provided for changing the outcome was a “gender capture error”, where too many men had initially been elected, prompting the replacement of one male candidate with a woman to meet the party’s female representation thresholds.
He argues that such changes, if true, were carried out outside the prescribed processes and further undermine the legitimacy of the outcome.
“This means that I am entitled to compel compliance with the ANC constitution and fair internal processes. I am doing so primarily to protect the ANC from the dire consequences that may follow from failing to address an unlawful and irregular leadership election, and allowing an illegitimate leadership to persist,” he states.
Itshegetseng also warns that the dispute, if left unresolved, could damage the ANC’s reputation ahead of the upcoming local government elections, particularly if a leadership structure whose legitimacy is under question is allowed to remain in place.
The matter is expected to test both the ANC’s internal dispute resolution mechanisms and the courts’ willingness to intervene in party-political processes.
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