ANC says Lungisa’s candidate-list dispute has been resolved

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LAGOS — African National Congress (ANC) National Executive Committee member Andile Lungisa says a dispute over his removal from the party’s candidate list for the November local government elections has been resolved, with his name expected to be restored to the proportional representation (PR) list in Nelson Mandela Bay.

Lungisa had launched an urgent legal challenge against ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula after his name was removed from the list, despite having been shortlisted among the party’s mayoral candidates for the Eastern Cape metropolitan municipality. The case was scheduled to be heard in the Johannesburg High Court on September 26.

Speaking during a meeting with small and medium-sized enterprises in Gqeberha, Lungisa said the ANC’s National Working Committee had addressed the dispute and that the party’s national chairperson, Gwede Mantashe, had indicated that his name would be reinstated.

Lungisa said ANC electoral rules provide mechanisms for parties to supplement their candidate lists after the election has been formally declared, as well as at a later stage before councillors take office.

The development comes amid wider disputes within the ANC over candidate lists ahead of the November 4 local government elections. The party has faced legal challenges in the Eastern Cape over the nomination and submission of candidates, while the Electoral Commission of South Africa has separately dealt with disputes concerning lists submitted by political parties.

Mantashe had previously criticised Lungisa’s decision to approach the courts, arguing that the matter should have been dealt with through the ANC’s internal structures.

The ANC has also been involved in a broader dispute with the IEC over candidate-list submissions, arguing that technical problems affected the submission of some councillor lists before the deadline.

Lungisa’s latest statement indicates that the immediate dispute over his PR candidacy may now be handled through the party’s internal electoral procedures, although the wider legal and administrative disputes surrounding ANC candidate lists remain before the relevant courts and electoral authorities.

For Nelson Mandela Bay, the outcome will determine whether Lungisa is formally included among the ANC candidates for the municipality as the party prepares for the November poll.