[REVISION HISTORY]

ANC candidate list legal dispute and Mbalula health update

Updated 1 time since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-10-15 13:12 UTC → 2026-10-18 14:33 UTC · added ~~removed~~

The African National Congress (ANC) faced an internal and legal crisis following its failure to submit complete candidate lists for several municipal areas in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Free State. This administrative error affected 181 candidates and threatened the party’s presence on the ballot in regions such as Mangaung and Port St Johns. President Cyril Ramaphosa initially intervened during a National Working Committee meeting, warning party leaders against using the crisis to target Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula. The situation concluded with a victory in the Constitutional Court, where Justice Rammaka Mathopo directed the Electoral Commission of South Africa to include the affected nominations on the ballot, finding the party’s explanation for the submission delay to be adequate. Following the announcement of this ~~ruling,~~ ruling at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg, Mbalula collapsed during a media ~~briefing, stating,~~ briefing. After describing the legal battle as difficult, he told journalists, ‘I’m not feeling well,’ ~~after describing~~ before slumping. He was assisted by bodyguards and ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu while receiving medical attention. In response to the incident, President Ramaphosa ordered Mbalula to take medical leave to recover from the stress of the legal ~~battle as difficult.~~ dispute and his official duties. Ramaphosa stated that Mbalula will not return to his duties until both doctors and the President are satisfied with his health, while also praising Mbalula for leading the party through the legal challenges with distinction.

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