News24 | ANC expels seven members for contesting elections for other parties

Seven ANC members across five municipalities were expelled for standing for other parties in the 4 November municipal elections.

Gallo Images/Darren Stewart

• Seven ANC members across five municipalities were expelled for standing for other parties in the 4 November municipal elections.
• ANC KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson Sifiso Sonjica said the ANC constitution treats accepting candidacy for another party as an automatic repudiation of membership.
• The party called on all structures and supporters to reject “political opportunism” and rally behind its chosen candidates.
• For more political news, visit News24 Politics.

Seven ANC members in KwaZulu-Natal have been expelled for contesting the upcoming local government elections as candidates of other political parties after failing to secure branch nominations to run for council seats.

Provincial spokesperson Sifiso Sonjica said the ANC’s candidate selection process was rooted in the branches and communities where members exercised their democratic right to nominate or reject prospective leaders.

The seven chose to contest the local government elections either as independent candidates or after defecting to the DA, the Abantu Batho Congress (ABC) or the Independent Alliance, while still holding ANC membership.

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They are standing in five wards in KwaZulu-Natal: KwaDukuza, Ndwedwe, Impendle, Inkosi Langalibalele, and Inkosi Mtubatuba.

“Having failed to earn the confidence of the masses, these individuals chose to defy the people’s democratic will, placing personal entitlement and political careerism above collective decisions,” said Sonjica.

“While the ANC respects every citizen’s constitutional right to contest elections, no individual can stand against the organisation at the ballot box while claiming to carry its membership.”

He said that under the ANC constitution, accepting to stand as a candidate for another party constituted an explicit repudiation of membership, resulting in immediate termination.

“The ANC will not be held hostage by political opportunists, nor will we allow our revolutionary journey to be derailed,” he said.

“We formally notify residents of KwaDukuza, Ndwedwe, Impendle, Inkosi Langalibalele and Inkosi Mtubatuba that the individuals are no longer members, representatives, or associates of the ANC.”

The seven expelled members are:

Sonjica said the former members no longer had the authority to speak on behalf of the ANC.

He called on all ANC structures, volunteers and supporters to unite behind the party’s chosen candidates.