The high court in South Africa has ruled that the African National Congress's (ANC) decision to remove Andile Lungisa from its Nelson Mandela Bay candidate list is unlawful and unconstitutional. The court has ordered the ANC to reinstate Lungisa's name on its internal proportional representation candidate list and to pay his legal costs. This judgment comes as the ANC prepares for the 4 November local government elections.
According to the court judgment, Lungisa was removed from the list shortly before the deadline for submitting candidate nominations, despite having progressed through the party's internal selection process. He had been voted for by 35 out of 60 branches and endorsed by communities in ANC wards. The ANC had defended the decision, arguing that Lungisa had not completed the required vetting process and did not meet the party's eligibility requirements.
However, the court found that the ANC had not adequately demonstrated that Lungisa had failed to attend the vetting process. The judge, Nelisa Mali, ruled that the ANC had failed to establish that Lungisa did not attend the vetting process, which formed part of its defence. The court also questioned the absence of a clear explanation of which part of the vetting process Lungisa had allegedly failed to complete.
The court further found that the ANC had failed to establish that Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula had the authority to remove Lungisa's name unilaterally at that stage of the candidate-selection process. The judge noted that the party's internal rules prescribe a defined decision-making structure and that Mbalula's function is not an unrestricted discretion to amend the final list.
Lungisa had approached the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Johannesburg on an urgent basis after his name was removed from the list. The case was heard on 28 September, and Lungisa had argued that he had been informed at 12:37 pm on 28 August that his name had been removed, despite having progressed through the party's internal selection process.
The judgment makes clear that political parties have the right to select their candidates but must follow their own rules and act in accordance with the Constitution. The judge cautioned against interpreting the ruling as giving Lungisa an automatic right to be selected as a candidate simply because he had been nominated through the party's internal structures.
The ANC has not governed Nelson Mandela Bay outright since 2016, when it lost control of the metro for the first time. The party is currently fighting the exclusion of 181 of its candidates in six municipalities by the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), a matter that is set to be heard by the Constitutional Court on 12 October.
Key points
- The high court has ruled that the ANC's removal of Andile Lungisa from its Nelson Mandela Bay candidate list is unlawful and unconstitutional.
- The court has ordered the ANC to reinstate Lungisa's name on its internal proportional representation candidate list and to pay his legal costs.
- The judgment comes as the ANC prepares for the 4 November local government elections.
