The decision by the ANC to axe more than 350 councillor candidates ahead of the 2026 Local Government Elections has been branded by political analysts as both a sign of a party finally enforcing standards it has talked about for decades, and exposing the factional battles that have long plagued the organisation.
This comes as the party prepares to field candidates for the November 4 local government elections, with its candidate selection process including branch participation, community input, verification and final approval.
The party’s candidate-selection guidelines provide for the identification of candidates for councillor, mayor, speaker, chief whip and mayoral committee positions, with the process aimed at ensuring those selected are suitable to serve in public office.
However, the scale of the exclusions has raised a more uncomfortable question for the party: how did more than 350 candidates make it through the earlier stages of its selection process only to be removed during final vetting?
The candidates were disqualified for reasons including criminal records and failure to meet the ANC’s qualification requirements, with the party preparing more than 10,000 candidates for the elections.
