Judgment expected in ANC Eastern Cape candidate list challenge
The members are demanding that the court nullify councillor candidates.
A hearing is anticipated on Wednesday in the urgent legal action filed by two African National Congress (ANC) representatives in the Eastern Cape's Makhanda High Court. The individuals are requesting that the court annul councillor candidates and mayoral candidate lists, contending that the party's nomination processes and guidelines were not adhered to. They argue that these processes were tampered with and do not accurately represent the proceedings during Branch General Meetings.
The litigants have accused the party's provincial executive committee, party Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula, and provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukaitobi of breaching the party's 2026 local government election candidate selection rules, guidelines, and procedures. They claim that the respondents did not publish the finalized ward councillor candidate list on the party's website, further alleging that the list was manipulated.
In court, the party's Secretary-General admitted through a letter to the applicants that the list was indeed altered. Most of these dissenting members are from various branches within the party, encompassing the Inxuba Yethemba Sub-Region in the Chris Hani and Alfred Nzo Regions.
The defense contended that the application was not urgent and should be heard in the electoral court, citing the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) as respondents and the matter as pertaining to the 2026 local government election.
Written by urgent.news from SABC News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
