JOHANNESBURG, Tuesday 25 August 2026 — The African National Congress has rejected requests to waive its matric requirement for some local government candidates but will allow affected nominees to remain conditionally on its lists if they commit to obtaining a matric or equivalent qualification within a year of becoming councillors.
The ANC Electoral Committee, chaired by former president Kgalema Motlanthe, has given affected candidates until 17:00 on Tuesday to submit signed pledges through their provincial list committees.
Candidates who do not submit the undertaking by the deadline must be removed and replaced on the party’s candidate lists, according to an Electoral Committee letter dated 24 August reported by Business Day.
Under the arrangement, candidates who are ultimately elected would have to obtain a matric certificate or an accredited qualification at National Qualifications Framework Level 4 or higher within 12 months of becoming ANC councillors.
The decision follows requests from provincial party structures for waivers for candidates who did not meet the education requirement.
The Electoral Committee found that none of the candidates put forward for waivers met the criteria for an exception or demonstrated attributes sufficient to justify their retention over other available candidates, Business Day reported.
The ANC introduced stricter candidate-selection requirements ahead of the 2026 local government elections as part of an effort to improve the capacity and conduct of its municipal representatives.
Guidelines released by the party in November 2025 established matric as a minimum qualification, while allowing the Electoral Committee to waive the requirement in exceptional circumstances. Candidates are also required to complete specified OR Tambo Leadership School modules before registration with the Electoral Commission of South Africa.
The guidelines additionally require candidates to be ANC members in good standing and contain eligibility provisions dealing with criminal charges, disciplinary findings and recommendations of the party’s Integrity Commission.
The qualification issue is being resolved as the ANC races to complete its lists for the 4 November local government elections.
The party’s National Executive Committee is meeting on Tuesday to consider outstanding candidate-list issues, with parties and independent candidates facing an IEC deadline on Friday, 28 August to submit their candidates.
The ANC’s mayoral selection process is being handled separately. The party presented mayoral finalists ahead of its election manifesto launch at the weekend but has not yet announced its final choices for several municipalities.
The conditional qualification rule allows the ANC to retain some candidates who would otherwise fall short of its stated education standard, while imposing a deadline for them to obtain the required qualification if elected.
Whether affected candidates comply with Tuesday’s pledge deadline will become clearer as the party completes its lists ahead of their submission to the IEC.
