“ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula’s involvement in two legal disputes is adding pressure to the African National Congress as it prepares for South Africa’s 4 November 2026 local government elections, with questions around party unity, candidate selection and campaign coordination becoming increasingly prominent. Analysts say the disputes come at a difficult moment for the ANC, which is already battling declining electoral support, internal disagreements, candidate-list controversies, service-delivery concerns and stronger competition from opposition parties.”
South Africa’s 2026 local government elections are entering a decisive phase, with the African National Congress (ANC) facing an unusually concentrated set of political and legal pressures less than a month before voters go to the polls. The latest development involves ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, whose two court disputes have placed questions about party unity, candidate selection and campaign leadership under scrutiny. Eyewitness News reported on 7 October that Mbalula is defending himself in a defamation case brought into focus by allegations from ANC NEC member Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, while he is also involved in a separate dispute concerning the removal of Andile Lungisa from the ANC candidate list for Nelson Mandela Bay. Mbalula denies the allegations against him and denies personally ordering Lungisa’s removal.
The timing is important because the local government elections are scheduled for 4 November 2026. The ANC is campaigning across municipalities while trying to recover support lost in the 2021 local elections, amid stronger opposition and coalition politics. The party’s secretary-general is therefore central to the campaign. His responsibilities place him near the centre of the electoral machinery, making legal disputes involving him politically significant even when separate from the ballot.
Professor Dirk Kotzé of the University of South Africa told 702 that the legal battles come at a difficult time because Mbalula is central to the ANC’s election campaign. Kotzé noted that local elections are particularly demanding because campaigning must be coordinated across 257 municipal contests. Unlike a national election, local campaigns require attention to individual municipalities, wards, candidates and service-delivery concerns.
The ANC is also facing a broader candidate-list dispute. The party has challenged an Electoral Court decision that prevents 181 of its candidates from contesting in six municipalities after candidate submissions were not completed in accordance with the IEC’s requirements. In its Constitutional Court case, the ANC argues that its candidates and supporting documents were uploaded before the deadline but that administrators failed to press the electronic system’s “submit as final” function in time. The party says the software requirement should not override electoral legislation and constitutional rights.
The dispute matters because it raises questions about voters’ choices. The ANC argues that excluding its candidates can limit the ability of voters in affected municipalities to support the party and can interfere with the constitutional right to participate in elections. The IEC, however, has maintained the importance of its procedures and deadlines. With the ballot process already advancing, any judicial intervention would also create practical questions about whether ballots would need to be changed or reprinted.
The candidate-list controversy has added to the ANC’s internal challenges. Reports have described disagreements inside the party over the omission of mayoral candidates and the circumstances surrounding candidate selection. At the same time, Andile Lungisa has challenged his removal from the ANC’s proportional-representation list in Nelson Mandela Bay. SABC News reported that the Johannesburg High Court reserved judgment in Lungisa’s case until 12 October. The ANC and Mbalula maintain that Lungisa did not participate in the required vetting process, while Lungisa disputes that position.
ANC First Deputy Secretary-General Nomvula Mokonyane has said the Lungisa matter requires political and organisational intervention. Her comments reflect a concern that internal disputes should not become a public symbol of dysfunction during an election campaign. Earlier, Eastern Cape ANC chairperson Oscar Mabuyane also urged members to use internal party processes rather than courts to resolve disputes, although the continuing litigation shows how difficult that approach has become in practice.
For the ANC, the political risk is not limited to court headlines. Voters are likely to judge the party on issues they experience every day, including electricity, water, roads, municipal finances, jobs, crime and the cost of living. In Johannesburg, residents interviewed by the Sunday Times on 7 October described frustration over electricity outages, unemployment and the perceived failure of political leadership. Some residents said they were considering not voting because they had lost confidence that elections would change their circumstances, while others argued that voting remained essential to influencing government.
That voter mood is significant because local elections are often decided by practical municipal performance rather than national political rhetoric. The ANC has acknowledged that it no longer enjoys an automatic mandate. Mbalula recently told supporters in the Eastern Cape that the party had heard voters’ message after its municipal support fell from 53.9% in 2016 to 45.59% in 2021. The number of hung councils also increased substantially, demonstrating the fragmentation of local political support.
Economic pressure could further shape voter behaviour. South Africa’s fuel prices have reached record levels, adding pressure to households just as the election campaign intensifies. The Citizen reported that petrol and diesel prices were rising sharply from 7 October, while municipal costs and other household expenses have also increased. These pressures can make service delivery, employment and affordability central election issues, potentially increasing public scrutiny of whichever parties control municipalities.
The ANC is consequently trying to present a message of renewal while dealing with organisational problems that can undermine that message. Its campaign must persuade voters that lessons have been learned, that candidates are capable of governing municipalities and that internal disputes will not distract leaders from delivering services. Legal cases involving senior officials can complicate that argument because they keep questions about leadership, accountability and internal discipline in the public spotlight.
At the same time, the ANC’s opponents have an opportunity to turn these difficulties into campaign arguments. The Democratic Alliance, Economic Freedom Fighters, uMkhonto weSizwe Party and smaller formations are competing for voters who are dissatisfied with established parties. In several municipalities, the possibility of coalition government means the ANC does not only need to win votes; it may also need to negotiate alliances after the election. Every percentage point could influence who controls a council and who becomes mayor.
The IEC is also working to protect confidence in the election process. The commission recently completed an independent external audit of its Election Results System, which captures and collates results and assists in allocating seats. Political parties and independent candidates were given an opportunity to nominate auditors to review the system. The exercise is intended to strengthen transparency and confidence ahead of the polls.
Ultimately, Mbalula’s legal difficulties are important because they intersect with a much bigger question: whether the ANC can maintain organisational coherence while fighting for political survival at local level. The party has less than a month before the polls to campaign, persuade dissatisfied voters, defend its candidate lists, manage internal disagreements and demonstrate that it can govern effectively. The courts will determine the legal disputes, but voters will deliver the political judgment.
The 4 November election will therefore test more than individual candidates or municipal administrations. It will test whether the ANC can rebuild trust after years of declining electoral support and whether opposition parties can convert dissatisfaction into actual votes and governing majorities. For Mbalula and the ANC leadership, the immediate challenge is to prevent internal disputes from overwhelming the campaign’s central message. For voters, the contest presents an opportunity to assess parties on performance, credibility and practical plans for their communities. As the campaign enters its final weeks, every court decision, municipal crisis and public engagement could influence that choice.
