Mbalula under fire as ANC candidate list blunder sparks internal backlash
· Citizen
The ANC’s failure to submit portions of its candidate lists before the Electoral Commission of South Africa’s (IEC) 28 August deadline has placed Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula under mounting pressure, with senior party leaders demanding answers over omissions that could affect the ANC’s prospects in key municipalities ahead of the 4 November local government elections.
The controversy emerged after the ANC announced last week that it had been unable to capture all its candidates on the IEC’s system due to what it described as a technical glitch.
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Dispute
The party has since engaged with the electoral body to ensure all its candidates are considered for the upcoming polls.
However, the issue has become increasingly contentious after the IEC publicly denied that its system experienced any technical problems.
The dispute has also drawn attention to the ANC’s internal candidate registration process, with reports suggesting that a number of candidates were left off the final lists submitted to the IEC.
Omissions
The full extent of the omissions remains unclear as the IEC has not yet published the complete list of registered candidates.
However, the electoral body recently confirmed that its system reflected 2,274 candidate nominees from 45 political parties whose details had been captured but not formally submitted.
ANC veteran Frank Chikane, NEC member and Deputy Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Nocawe Mafu, and former ANC Youth League deputy president Andile Lungisa are among those omitted from proportional representation lists, according to a Sunday Times report.
Lungisa reportedly said he had been assured that his name would be added during the amendment process.
Criticism
The issue has sparked criticism from within the ANC’s leadership structures, with several National Executive Committee (NEC) members reportedly arguing that Mbalula must account for what happened.
Some party leaders believe the omissions could affect the ANC’s electoral prospects in municipalities across the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and the Free State.
NEC member Mondli Gungubele was among those who publicly criticised the matter.
“The failure to submit municipalities and a set of candidates to the IEC is a scandalous incident that cannot be joked about. As leadership, if we cannot be embarrassed by this, we aren’t worth the idea.”
Blame
Another NEC member told the Sunday Times: “Mbalula cannot be absolved from blame. Mbalula is a law unto himself.”
The paper reported that at least nine NEC members believe the ANC secretary-general should be held accountable for the omissions.
Affected provinces
The Eastern Cape is understood to be among the provinces most affected by the candidate-list problems.
Candidates in the OR Tambo and Alfred Nzo district municipalities, as well as the Sundays River Valley and Walter Sisulu local municipalities, were affected by the omissions.
In Port St Johns, the ANC reportedly failed to submit the names of 20 ward councillor candidates and 19 proportional representation candidates.
The Alfred Nzo District Municipality mayor Tsileng Sobuthongo was among those omitted from the lists.
In KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), where the ANC is attempting to regain support lost to the MK Party, the governing party reportedly failed to field candidates in uMshwathi municipality.
Candidate lists
The controversy has also raised questions about how the candidate lists were managed internally.
According to NEC members, regional and provincial leaders were allegedly allowed to amend the lists after they had already been approved by the NEC.
One NEC member questioned why the final lists were not submitted immediately after the NEC completed its work.
“The NEC finalised that list on Wednesday, and it meant that either on Wednesday night or Thursday he should have submitted it, as is.”
Mbalula acknowledged during a meeting with the Eastern Cape provincial executive committee that the ANC’s lists were submitted shortly before the deadline expired.
“Mbalula has seriously damaged the ANC. If he survives this for any future candidacy of any kind when it comes to 2027, I’ll say that his ancestors are with him,” an ANC insider said.
Criticism
Mbalula has dismissed criticism over the matter and continued to maintain that a technical glitch was responsible for the problems.
Speaking at an ANC Women’s League event, he said: “I am not scared of ANC members. I understand the ANC and its members.”
“I know the duplicitous, I know the honest, and I know the liars who are not working for the party; they specialise in being vocal.”
Ramaphosa
On Saturday, The Citizen reported that ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa had addressed concerns about the party’s failure to meet the IEC deadline for submitting some candidate lists.
Speaking at a campaign event in Ekurhuleni, Ramaphosa said he had been informed that 34 political parties had been affected by similar technical challenges during the submission process.
He argued that technical difficulties should not ultimately prevent voters from supporting their preferred candidates.
The ANC president also confirmed that the party was considering legal avenues, including approaching the Electoral Court.
“The Electoral Court is a specialist institution mandated to deal with these types of disputes and challenges. It should be able to provide certainty on the matter.”
Electoral court
The ANC has since approached the Electoral Court after the IEC declined to hear its case.
IEC chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo confirmed that the commission had received the ANC’s appeal and was considering the legal issues raised.
Not everyone within the ANC believes Mbalula should be solely blamed for the situation.
One NEC member defended the secretary-general, saying: “The SG doesn’t run electoral processes. You can’t just blame someone because you don’t like him. You ask for a report first from the committee.”
ANC
The Citizen also reached out to ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu for comment on the allegations surrounding the submission process and claims that candidate lists were altered after receiving NEC approval.
However, she told the paper that the ANC remained confident in its internal procedures and also rejected allegations that candidate lists were reopened after the NEC meeting.