The ANC will announce its metro mayor candidates before next year’s local government elections to counter its opponents in the lead-up to the elections.
The party’s national executive committee (NEC) has approved the selection guidelines for the 2026 municipal elections, continuing a tradition that insists metro mayors be selected by national officials.
ANC elections committee head, former president Kgalema Motlanthe, announced the guidelines during a media briefing on Monday after the NEC meeting at the weekend.
Nominations by branches of whom they would like to select to represent them in councils will begin early next year.
“The rules have been tightened, and the minimum qualification is not mandatory, and also the mayoral candidates for the metros and secondary cities will be handled by the national officials to ensure they select people who bring expertise and the requisite qualifications to occupy these positions,” Motlanthe said.
Lifestyle audits of the candidates will be initiated as and when necessary, and this could be initiated when questions arise about their legitimacy.
Several NEC members have suggested that mayoral candidates in metros be selected from the most senior leaders in the party, including current and former ministers, as well as business leaders.
Names that have been touted for mayoral positions include justice minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, Bheki Cele and Mcebisi Jonas.
NEC members who spoke to TimesLIVE said the ANC would need to bring in its big guns to counter the campaigns of opposition parties, including the DA, which has endorsed political giant Helen Zille as its Johannesburg candidate.
The guidelines state that all candidates to be considered for the positions of mayors, speakers and chief whips must possess a tertiary qualification from an accredited institution and at least three years’ experience as an MP, MPL or councillor.
For local and district mayoral positions, the regional executive committee (REC) will recommend three candidates per municipality to the provincial officials from among the nominated councillor candidates.
“No candidate who has served two consecutive full terms as a mayor may be considered for a third term in line with the Municipal Structures Act. At least two of the three mayoral candidates recommended by the REC must be female.”
Current first-term female mayors on the council lists must automatically be included among the three mayoral candidates recommended by the REC, and concerted efforts to ensure that female mayors also serve two full terms will be made subject to performance, it said.
“Before the national and provincial officials decide on the final candidate, they must ensure that candidates are interviewed by duly appointed interview panels comprised of officials and NEC or PEC members. If the officials are not satisfied that some of the candidates meet the criteria, they may add at least two more names to be considered through interviews.
“All candidates will be subjected to the same interview process. The chair of the electoral committee, or his/her nominee, supported by the secretary of the electoral committee, will have observer status during the interviews of the mayoral and speaker candidates. The provincial officials will appoint chief whips and speakers after recommendations of three candidates for each of these positions by the REC. At least one of the recommended candidates must be female,” he said.
TimesLIVE
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