EAST LONDON, Wednesday 26 August 2026 — The ANC is facing a fresh threat of court action over its councillor candidate-selection process in Buffalo City, with disgruntled members alleging that branch nominations were bypassed as the party races to register candidates for the 4 November local government elections.
Lawyers acting for ANC member Lwazi Rotya wrote to secretary-general Fikile Mbalula on Monday demanding that the party address alleged breaches of its candidate-selection rules or face legal proceedings.
The dispute is particularly significant because political parties and independent candidates have until 17:00 on Friday, 28 August to submit their nominations to the Electoral Commission of South Africa. The IEC has warned that submissions or changes will not be accepted after the deadline.
Rotya alleges that councillor nomination meetings required under the ANC’s rules did not take place in parts of the Dr WB Rubusana region.
He specifically cited Ward 20 in Buffalo City, where he says a community meeting involving branch members failed to sit, and alleges that similar problems occurred elsewhere in the region.
Members have also alleged that some people nominated through branch processes were subsequently removed from candidate lists.
Those allegations have not been tested in court, and no judicial finding has been made that the ANC’s current Buffalo City candidate-selection process was manipulated.
The dispute is not an isolated complaint about candidate rankings.
Eastern Cape ANC structures have been dealing with a large number of branch disputes during the candidate-selection process. Reporting last week indicated that about 180 disputes had been lodged in the province, with roughly 50 still outstanding at that stage.
Several originated in the Dr WB Rubusana region, which covers Buffalo City.
The latest threat also carries additional weight because Rotya and other ANC members have previously succeeded in court challenges involving the party’s Eastern Cape structures.
In March, Rotya obtained an interdict preventing the ANC’s Eastern Cape provincial conference from proceeding amid disputes over participation and compliance with party rules.
A subsequent challenge to the ANC’s decision to replace the expired provincial executive committee with a provincial task team also succeeded in the Eastern Cape High Court. The court found that the appointment was unlawful.
The ANC later reinstated the former provincial executive committee while pursuing further legal processes.
That history means the latest candidate dispute poses more than a theoretical risk as Friday’s electoral deadline approaches.
If court proceedings are instituted and result in an order requiring parts of the Buffalo City nomination process to be repeated, the timing could complicate the ANC’s ability to finalise affected candidates before nominations close.
Buffalo City is also one of South Africa’s eight metropolitan municipalities and therefore carries greater electoral significance than an ordinary candidate-list dispute.
The ANC currently governs the metro and has shortlisted incumbent mayor Princess Faku, Deputy Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Nocawe Mafu, Simphiwe Dzengwa and Ncedo Kumbaca for its 2026 mayoral candidacy.
The UDM is challenging the ANC with deputy president Nqabayomzi Kwankwa as its mayoral candidate, while other opposition parties are also seeking to increase their representation in the council.
The immediate question is whether the ANC resolves the complaints internally before Friday or whether Rotya and other members approach the courts while the party is finalising its IEC submission.
