The ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) is due to meet on Tuesday to approve its final candidate lists for the 2026 local government elections.The party’s electoral commission, headed by former president Kgalema Motlanthe, will present the lists to the NEC for approval before they are submitted to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) ahead of its August 28 deadline. It will be the outcome of an extended provincial executive committee process that has placed a premium on where candidates rank on the lists.Those in the top 10 positions are considered to have the safest spots, giving them greater protection if the ANC’s vote share falls. The higher a candidate ranks, the greater the likelihood of securing a council seat, making the final ordering a closely watched part of the selection process.The ANC is working through lists containing more than 6,000 proportional representation candidates, alongside about 4,488 ward candidates. The scale of the exercise adds to the pressure on the party to conclude its approval process before the IEC deadline.Political parties and prospective independent candidates have until August 28 to capture and submit candidate and supporter information to the IEC. The ANC must therefore resolve outstanding disputes and secure the necessary approvals before the submission window closes.Any failure to finalise the lists could raise tension in the party, particularly among candidates who have invested in securing nominations and could view exclusion as a political setback.Though the ANC did not announce its preferred mayoral candidates at the weekend, those candidates will still form part of the lists submitted to the IEC as ordinary councillor candidates. The mayoral choices are determined by the party and will be announced separately, meaning the weekend’s decision does not remove the candidates from the electoral process. Where they are among the preferred candidates, they will be prioritised in the list ranking. This gives them the protection of a higher position on the list while the party retains the ability to determine the mayoral appointments separately.The country’s biggest party faces pressure for abandoning plans to announce its preferred mayoral candidates at the weekend. The delay reflects concerns in the ANC that candidates who fail to secure the party’s backing could refuse to campaign for it or defect ahead of the election.The ANC’s candidate selection process will be closely watched in the major municipalities, where the party is seeking to rebuild support after losing outright control of several metros in the 2021 local elections. A document containing the party’s proposed mayoral candidates shows multiple names being considered. In Johannesburg, these include incumbent mayor Dada Morero; Frank Chikane, who heads the party’s integrity committee and is the regional chair; and deputy mayor of Joburg Loyiso Masuku. For Tshwane, there are long-time hopeful Kgosi Maepa, Chana Majake, Aaron Maluleka, Tlangi Mogale, Patience Moropa and Phumeza Mangcu. In eThekwini, the list includes Durban mayor Cyril Xaba, deputy higher education minister Nomusa Dube, Mina Soma-Lesoma, Thabani Nyawose and Maggie Govender.