Frank Chikane left off ANC’s Joburg candidate list as Masuku, Morero make the cut

The African National Congress’ (ANC) mayoral race in the City of Johannesburg has taken a new turn after Reverend Frank Chikane was omitted from the party’s certified candidate list submitted to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).

The IEC released the official candidate list for the 4 November local government elections on Wednesday, 16 September.

Chikane had been named alongside Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero and Deputy Mayor Loyiso Masuku as one of three people shortlisted for the ANC’s Johannesburg mayoral candidacy in August. However, the ANC’s certified candidate list dated 16 September does not include Chikane among its Johannesburg candidates.

FRANK CHIKANE OMMITTED FROM ANC JOBURG CANDIDATE LIST

The certified list places Loyiso Masuku at number one on the ANC’s proportional representation (PR) candidate list for the City of Johannesburg.

Musiwa Maxwell Nedzamba is listed second, followed by Nomoya Daphney Mnisi in third place and current Joburg mayor Sello Enoch “Dada” Morero, in fourth.

The list does not identify any of the candidates as the ANC’s official mayoral candidate.

Chikane’s omission is notable because he was previously named by the ANC as one of three potential mayoral candidates for Johannesburg.

The ANC announced Masuku, Morero and Chikane as its Johannesburg shortlist in August, saying the final mayoral candidates would be announced in September.

At the time, the party described the names as a shortlist rather than confirmed mayoral candidates.

Frank Chikane’s name does not appear among the ANC’s certified Johannesburg candidates in the IEC document dated 16 September.

WHAT THE LIST MEANS FOR THE MAYORAL RACE

While Masuku’s position at the top of the PR list places her prominently among the ANC’s Johannesburg candidates, the certified candidate list does not, on its own, establish her as the party’s mayoral candidate.

The mayor of a municipality is elected by councillors after the local government elections.

The ANC’s final decision on who it will put forward for the Johannesburg mayoral position therefore remains separate from the ranking of candidates on the PR list.

The development comes as political parties prepare for the local government elections scheduled for 4 November. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has selected Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, a medical doctor and former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health, as its mayoral candidate.

ActionSA has selected its president and former Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba to contest the position. Mashaba served as mayor from 2016 to 2019 while he was a member of the Democratic Alliance.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has chosen former Cape Town mayor and former Western Cape premier Helen Zille as its candidate while the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) has also entered the Johannesburg mayoral race for the first time, selecting Mlungisi Mabaso as its candidate.

Other parties contesting the mayoral race include Rise Mzansi, which has named Lukhona Mnguni; Build One South Africa (BOSA), which has selected Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster; the Land Party, which has selected controversial poet Ntsiki Mazwai; the African Transformation Movement (ATM) has named Vuyo Zungula; and Al Jama-ah, which has named Shireen Ebrahim.