The African National Congress’s National Working Committee (NWC) has agreed to restore Andile Lungisa to the party’s proportional representation (PR) candidate list for the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, Lungisa said on the sidelines of a meeting in Gqeberha on Wednesday.
What Lungisa says
Addressing a gathering of small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs), Lungisa told reporters that party structures had moved to reverse his earlier removal from the list. He said the party’s national chair, Gwede Mantashe, had referred to “the will of the people” in relation to his reinstatement.
“The national chair (Gwede Mantashe) spoke of the will of the people... my name will be brought back,” Lungisa said.
His remarks come amid an urgent court application lodged in Johannesburg challenging the actions of the ANC secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula, over Lungisa’s exclusion. Lungisa has asked the Gauteng High Court to declare the removal unlawful and to order the party to reinstate him on the PR list submitted to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).
Allegations in court papers
According to the court papers, Lungisa says his candidacy had been through the ANC’s internal endorsement processes before his name was removed. He alleges that Mbalula convened a meeting in Johannesburg and instructed party officials to delete his name from the Nelson Mandela Bay list because the secretary-general believed the candidacy would create unspecified “problems.”
“Mr Mbalula convened the meeting envisaged in clause 9.6.5 at a hotel in Johannesburg and instructed the officials to remove my name,” the court papers state.
Lungisa argues the ANC’s rules do not give the secretary-general unilateral power to expunge a candidate after a list has been approved. The papers point to the party’s provisions that only permit alterations to a finalised list on “very serious grounds” and then require the agreement of 80% of the ANC’s extended National Executive Committee (NEC).
Timing and political context
The matter is unfolding in the run-up to the local government elections on 4 November. The dispute underscores ongoing tensions within the ANC over candidate selection and internal discipline as the party prepares for nationwide polls.
- Key actors: Andile Lungisa (ANC NEC member and candidate), Fikile Mbalula (ANC secretary-general), Gwede Mantashe (ANC national chair).
- Institutional avenues: Gauteng High Court (urgent application) and ANC internal structures (NWC and extended NEC).
- Immediate consequence: Lungisa says his name will be returned to the PR list; the court challenge seeks a formal declaration and order.
The party has allowed for the possibility of supplementing candidate lists after the election, Lungisa noted, signalling that internal adjustments remain part of ANC practice. He further maintained that his candidacy had followed established internal processes prior to the challenged removal.
Implications
Beyond the immediate contest over one name on a municipal list, the dispute tests the ANC’s internal governance and the limits of authority within its leadership. If the court were to find in Lungisa’s favour, it could constrain the secretary-general’s discretion in future list management. Conversely, a decision upholding the party’s actions would endorse a broader interpretation of the secretary-general’s managerial powers.
For now, the political theatre around Nelson Mandela Bay is likely to remain in focus as the ANC heads into a high-stakes local election season. The party will have to balance enforcing internal rules with managing factional pressures and public perceptions about transparency and fairness in candidate selection.
This report is based on contemporaneous statements and court papers made public in Gqeberha and Johannesburg.
