ANC to consider replacing mayors with chosen electoral candidates

The African National Congress (ANC) says it's considering replacing mayors in major cities with its chosen electoral candidates even before the local government elections.

ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula defended the party’s decision to consider candidates outside of regional leadership to represent the party in municipal councils.

The ANC said there was no rule within the party’s constitution that stipulated that regional chairpersons were automatically in line for mayorship.

In a break from tradition, the ANC is casting its net wider than its formal structures to find suitable mayoral candidates in an attempt to wrest back full control of metros and major cities.

Mbalula said this was neither a slight on elected leadership nor on the supporters who elected them, and that local leadership would not be discounted in the selection process.

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"We will go for the best, and we are not confining ourselves to who got elected. If the chairperson of the region among those interviewed is the person we believe can be the mayoral candidate, that will be it," he said.

Mbalula said the party wanted its successful candidates to begin work immediately.

"We are running an ANC-led election campaign, not personalities. We are electing mayoral candidates just for quality assurance to ensure we get good people," he said.

An election date is yet to be announced, but at the earliest, it could be held in November.

The ANC is set to announce its mayoral candidates for major cities by the end of June.