ANC opens candidate lists to non-members in mayoral selection overhaul

By Simon Nare

ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula says the party will now allow non-card-carrying members to stand as its candidates in the upcoming local government elections, marking a break from its traditional approach to candidate selection.

Speaking to journalists ahead of a special National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg on Friday, Mbalula said the party would accept candidates who are not formal members, provided they have strong community backing.

He said the ANC already has councillors serving under its banner who are not card-carrying members, having been nominated through community processes.

The shift forms part of a broader overhaul of the party’s candidate selection system, which introduces a centralised, competency-based approach to identifying and deploying leadership in key municipalities.

The party has also launched its mayoral candidate selection process, mainly targeting the eight metropolitan municipalities in South Africa and the 22 secondary cities considered