IEC final lists expose fierce metro battles ahead of local elections

The Electoral Commission of South Africa’s (IEC) final candidate lists for the November 4 local government elections expose deepening political fragmentation across South Africa’s eight metros, with incumbents, former mayors and new political players competing to shape who governs the country’s biggest cities.

Nowhere is that fragmentation more pronounced than Johannesburg, where the ANC’s candidate list has thrown the mayoral contest into sharper focus.

ANC regional chairperson and executive deputy mayor Loyiso Masuku tops the party’s proportional representation (PR) list, followed by Musiiwa Maxwell Nedzamba, Nomoya Daphney Mnisi, incumbent mayor Sello Enoch Morero and Sibongile Eunice Mgcina.

Masuku is one of three people the ANC shortlisted for the mayoralty, alongside Morero and Rev Frank Chikane. But Chikane, a veteran cleric and former director-general in the presidency under Thabo Mbeki, does not appear on the final PR list.

The ANC has described his omission as an administrative error, while Chikane has rejected reports that he withdrew from the race. His absence leaves Masuku and Morero as the two most prominent of the shortlisted candidates who appear in the final list.

Johannesburg’s contest extends well beyond the ANC. The DA has former leader and Cape Town mayor Helen Zille as its mayoral candidate. ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba is seeking a return to the mayoralty he held from 2016 to 2019, while the EFF has selected Tlaleng Mofokeng and the MK Party Bongani Baloyi. The Patriotic Alliance (PA) has named Kenny Kunene, and the IFP Mlungisi Mabaso.

The contest in Tshwane tells a different story. Eugene Thipe Modise tops the ANC’s PR list despite not being among the party’s six mayoral contenders. Five of those contenders — Tlangi Mogale, Aaron Maluleka, Phumeza Mangcu, Kgoši Maepa and Patience Moropa — appear within the first 16 positions.

The DA is also seeking to return to the mayoralty in Tshwane after Cilliers Brink was voted out in 2025. The party has nominated Brink for the election, while the EFF has selected Omphile Maotwe and the MK Party Nkele Annie Matime. The IFP’s number one PR candidate is Douglas Ziyanda Zwane.

In Ekurhuleni, the ANC list reveals another internal contest between senior figures.

Jongizizwe Hansen Dlabathi is number one, followed by incumbent mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza and Pelisa Nkunjana. Ntombi Mekgwe, the fourth mayoral contender, does not appear in the supplied PR list. Dlabathi and Xhakaza are both among the ANC’s four shortlisted mayoral candidates.

That puts Dlabathi, who has emerged as a central figure in the ANC’s internal contest in the metro, at the head of the final PR list while the incumbent mayor sits third.

The EFF has put forward former speaker Nthabiseng Tshivhenga, the MK Party has selected Thulani Shongwe, and the IFP’s number one candidate is current councillor Desmond Mchunu.

In eThekwini, the ANC list provides the clearest alignment between its mayoral shortlist and PR ranking.

Incumbent mayor Cyril Xaba is number one on the ANC list and is also one of five people shortlisted for the mayoralty. Nomusa Dube-Ncube, Mina Soma-Lesoma, Thabani Nyawose and Maggie Govender make up the rest of the shortlist.

The DA’s candidate is Haniff Hoosen, while the EFF has selected Hlengiwe Mkhaliphi and the IFP Mkhuleko Hlengwa.

The MK Party, however, faces a particularly unusual situation. Zandile Hlophe-Mkhwanazi remains number one on its certified list despite having been removed as its mayoral candidate and replaced by Apostle Mxolisi Phakathi. The discrepancy illustrates how the party makes decisions and the final IEC list can diverge when changes are made after submissions have been processed.

Buffalo City in the Eastern Cape also places the incumbent ANC mayor at the top of the PR list.

Princess Faku, who is also ANC regional chairperson, is number one and is one of four people shortlisted for the mayoralty. Nocawe Mafu, Simphiwe Dzengwa and Ncedo Kumbaca are also on the shortlist but do not appear in the supplied PR list.

The metro will face competition from MK Party candidate Mzwandile Vaaiboom, EFF candidate Mkhululi Leonard Dlevu and UDM candidate Nqabayomzi Kwankwa.

Nelson Mandela Bay is less straightforward.

Morgan Tshaka tops the ANC PR list, but is not among the four people shortlisted for mayor — Andile Lungisa, Babalwa Lobishe, Xolani Vela and Ntombi Nama.

Lungisa, an ANC NEC member and former regional leader, is one of the most prominent names in the metro contest. The MK Party has selected Mvuleni Mapu and the EFF Sinawo Thambo.

Cape Town presents yet another variation.

The ANC’s PR list is headed by Banoyolo Yawa, who is not among the party’s eight mayoral contenders. Six of those contenders — Ndithini Tyhido, Fiona Abrahams, Mareldia Chowglay, Luvuyo Zondani, Zelda Trantraal and Ernest Theron — appear among the first 14 positions.

The DA, which governs Cape Town, is seeking another term under incumbent Geordin Hill-Lewis. The EFF has selected Nontando Nolutshungu.

Mangaung in the Free State is the metro where the ANC’s list problems have had their most direct effect on the ballot.

The party has no PR list after the Electoral Court upheld the IEC’s decision to exclude its affected nominations. The ANC can still contest ward seats, but its PR candidates will not appear on the ballot. This means the party’s eight-person Mangaung mayoral shortlist cannot be compared with a final PR ranking in the way it can in the other metros.

The broader ANC candidate list crisis affects six municipalities. The party lost 181 candidates — 130 PR candidates and 51 ward candidates — after failing to complete its final electronic submission by the 5pm deadline on August 28.

In Port St Johns and Ngquza Hill, the ANC lost both ward and PR candidates and will not contest either municipality. In Walter Sisulu, Sundays River Valley and uMshwathi, it retained ward candidates but lost its PR lists.

The final lists also reveal a separate problem of duplicate nominations. The IEC identified 550 cases involving candidates nominated by more than one party.

ActionSA features prominently in the overlaps, with names such as Mkakutta Clara Yekiso-Morolong, Kwanele Majeke and Mendi Wetsetse appearing alongside the ANC. Other candidates appear under ActionSA and the African Heart Congress, African Transformation Movement, African People’s Convention and Afrika Mayibuye Movement.

The PA has also submitted repeated entries in Buffalo City, including multiple appearances by Graham Melvinn.

The proliferation of parties is itself a feature of the election. Ballots include formations such as the Gaza Democratic Front, ImStaying, Organic Humanity Movement, Pro South Africa, GAP Fixers of South Africa and the Shosholoza Progressive Party.

The final lists show the metro elections will be fought between established parties and a growing field of smaller formations competing for control of the councils after November 4.

Business Day