Eastern Cape ANC chair Oscar Mabuyane has called for decisive action against those responsible for the alleged manipulation of the party's candidate lists. The failure to register candidates in four provincial municipalities threatens to ignite a legal and political war at the top of the governing party. Mabuyane described the situation as "catastrophic" and emphasized that the party cannot treat the debacle as an administrative mishap or technical error.
Mabuyane questioned the role of the secretariat in the manipulation of the list, arguing that the names released by the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) differed from the list endorsed by ANC structures. He stated that leaders, including the secretary-general's office, were present during the registration process and had an obligation to disclose what they knew. The party is left with no choice but to establish who had made the changes and under what authority.
The Eastern Cape ANC is facing one of its gravest electoral crises after candidate lists were not submitted in time for four municipalities. The party pinned its hopes on legal action, but Mabuyane conceded that failure would carry severe political consequences. He described the crisis as due to an extraordinary act of defiance of the party's rules and collective authority.
Mabuyane's intervention places renewed pressure on the national secretariat, including secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, and Eastern Cape provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi, who are locked in an increasingly bitter public dispute. Mabuyane was adamant that responsibility should not be shifted to the NEC or the provincial executive committee (PEC). Answers have to come from the administrative machinery of the organisation — from regional structures to national headquarters.
According to Mabuyane, the province's list had already been elevated to national level by the time of the final NEC meeting before the deadline. He stated that regional chairs had been removed from the list and demanded an explanation of how that could have happened. Mabuyane accused unnamed party leaders of putting personal alliances and factional interests above the organisation.
A report by Mbalula details material discrepancies between candidate lists endorsed by party structures and those eventually captured for the electoral system. The report identifies 34 material changes in the Eastern Cape list, including five outright removals, 11 insertions, 16 replacements, and two significant changes in candidate ranking. Ngcukayitobi has accused Mbalula of falsely seeking to pin blame for the Eastern Cape's failure to submit crucial municipal candidate lists on him.
Mabuyane declined to single out one of the two administrators, saying both were present during the registration process and had an obligation to disclose what they knew. The crisis has triggered an explosive response from Ngcukayitobi, whose lawyers have sent Mbalula a scathing letter demanding a retraction and apology. The situation has highlighted the deep divisions within the ANC and the need for decisive action to restore order and discipline within the party.
Key points
- Eastern Cape ANC chair Oscar Mabuyane calls for decisive action against those responsible for alleged manipulation of party's candidate lists.
- The failure to register candidates in four provincial municipalities threatens to ignite a legal and political war at the top of the governing party.
- Mabuyane's intervention places renewed pressure on the national secretariat, including secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, and Eastern Cape provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi.
