JOHANNESBURG, Saturday 22 August 2026 — The ANC said it would announce its mayoral candidates in September, changing an earlier plan to unveil them at an event in Johannesburg on Saturday.
ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula told journalists at the Sandton Convention Centre that the party’s election campaign was not dependent on individual candidates and would be led nationally by the organisation and President Cyril Ramaphosa.
An ANC media advisory issued on 19 August had scheduled the mayoral candidate announcement for 22 August, followed by the party’s national local government election manifesto launch on Sunday.
The manifesto launch remained scheduled for 23 August at Riverside in Diepsloot. The delayed candidate announcement comes as several opposition parties have already named candidates in key municipalities ahead of the 4 November vote.
