ANC on the wrong foot ahead of watershed SA elections

by MTHULISI SIBANDA 
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – AFTER losing its historic parliamentary majority at the helm of South Africa, the continent’s oldest liberation movement – the African National Congress (ANC) – now faces the humiliating prospect of fighting critical local government elections with self-inflicted wounds.

For a second successive municipal election cycle, the beleaguered organisation has missed a deadline set by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to submit its complete candidate lists for several municipalities.

As was the case in 2021, when the ANC’s voter share dropped by over 8 percent, the party has again missed the deadline after failing to meet the strict cut-off time on August 28 at 17h00.

The failure comes despite a generous ten-week window offered by the IEC.

The IEC has rejected the former dominant party’s claims of technical glitches within the electoral organisation’s online registration portal.

The ANC reports that around 150 of its candidates were affected, out of more than 10 000 candidates submitted.

“The primary reason for the delay is not technology, but politics,” an analyst told CAJ News Africa.

“The process of choosing candidates is highly contested because a municipal council seat represents a stable salary and access to local state resources,” he said.

ANC branches frequently experience intense infighting and disputes over the winners of nomination votes. There are also widespread allegations of list-tampering.

The Eastern Cape branch – the provincial birthplace of Nelson Mandela – has been in court in a fallout with the national executive.

This is a humiliation for a party previously synonymous with discipline and astute organisation, preceding its ascension to power in 1994, at the end of apartheid.

Exactly two months before the watershed November 4 elections, questions arise as to how a party that cannot master the basic internal mechanics of registering its own candidates can be trusted to successfully manage the crumbling infrastructure in most municipalities across the country.

Among these is the economic and political powerhouse of Gauteng, Johannesburg, where mayor Dada Morero, an ANC member, was captured on video unleashing vulgar language at a town hall meeting attended by residents angered by poor service delivery.

While other political rivals, including those in the government of national unity (GNU), have confirmed their candidates for the local government elections, the ANC is struggling with the final selection.

At least its shortlisted mayoral hopefuls, Morero, his deputy Loyiso Masuku and party veteran Frank Chikane, are already safely registered on the IEC list as councillor candidates.

The Democratic Alliance (DA), the biggest partner in the coalition, is fielding political heavyweight Helen Zille, whose campaign is in full throttle.

Mahlengi Bhengu, ANC spokesperson, reported that the party complied with the deadline but “the very last portion of the batch is when the system started kicking them out.”

“We are not discussing here a lack of compliance on the part of the ANC with regards to meeting the deadline but a batch of names on the uploaded list that were kicked out,” she said.

Samuel Nthodi, a local commentator, said the ANC missing the IEC deadline indicated continuing weaknesses and questioned why the party had to wait until the last minute to submit.

“It exposes a breakdown in administrative capacity, powerful internal warfare and a perilous reliance on historical entitlement,” he said.

“This crisis will absolutely accelerate the erosion of the ANC’s municipal power, turning what was already expected to be a tough election into an administrative disaster.”

The commentator added: “By failing to register candidates in key strongholds, the ANC is effectively disqualifying itself before a single ballot is cast.”

The IEC has confirmed that 546 parties will contest, including 345 political parties to participate at national level. A total of 142 072 candidates have been nominated to contest 10 526 council seats across municipalities.

The number of registered political parties is the highest it has ever been in a country battling unemployment, crime, corruption and a migration crisis.

President Cyril Ramaphosa is also clinging to his political life in the courts, where he is challenging moves by parliamentarians to impeach him over a long-running multimillion-rand (US$580 000) foreign-currency saga at his farm.

– CAJ News