ANC opens door to public in mayoral candidate search
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Facing what may be its toughest local government election battle yet, the ANC has decided to look beyond its own ranks in its search for mayoral candidates across the county’s metros and municipalities. The move follows the party’s bruising performance in the 2024 national elections, when it fell below 50% for the first time since the advent of democracy and lost its outright majority. On Wednesday, the party announced it had opened public nominations for the centralised selection of ANC mayoral candidates in the country’s eight metropolitan municipalities and 22 secondary cities and towns. In a statement, the party said it wanted to turn to the people of South Africa and ask the country to participate directly in identifying those who will carry the responsibility of municipal leadership as mayors in the next term. “This invitation is genuinely open to all. Any South African who is not a card-carrying member of the movement may nominate a fellow citizen of integrity and capacity through the same portal and on the same terms as any member of the ANC,” read the statement. “A South African who is not a member may also self-nominate and place his or her own name forward as a nominee for consideration. The door is extended first; the question of membership comes later, in line with Rule 4.16 of the ANC constitution and the resolution of the national working committee (NEC) and before any name is publicly announced.” The party described this as “the deliberate intention of the movement. “The African National Congress belongs to the people of South Africa, in the spirit of the charter’s declaration that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity.” The ANC opened the process on Wednesday and the final cut-off for this intake is midnight on Friday 22 May 2026. Each nominee will, at the appropriate stage of the process, sign procedural undertakings governing this selection and the pledge to serve better, in line with the resolution of the national ex