ANC National Executive Committee member Andile Lungisa has launched an urgent court bid against the African National Congress and its secretary-general Fikile Mbalula over his removal from the party’s Nelson Mandela Bay proportional representation candidate list. Lungisa filed the application in the Gauteng High Court on September 11, 2026, demanding that his name be restored to the list ahead of the November 4 local government elections.

Lungisa’s Legal Challenge And Allegations

Lungisa claims he was nominated by ANC branches in the metro, placed at the top of the list, and later confirmed as a mayoral candidate by ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa. In court papers, he alleges that Mbalula convened a meeting at a Johannesburg hotel after the NEC had finalised the list and “instructed the officials to remove my name.”

He maintains that his name was still on the candidate list when the NEC met on or about August 27 to conclude the selection process. The application seeks a court order to compel the party to reinstate him, arguing that the removal was unlawful and violated ANC procedures.

Mbalula Refuses Public Comment As Broader List Crisis Unfolds

Mbalula confirmed receiving a letter from Lungisa but declined to discuss the matter publicly, stating it would be settled in court. “I received the letter, but Andile Lungisa is an author of the ANC guidelines, and if you talk about the metrics and write me through the lawyers, it’s a matter that I will settle in court,” Mbalula said on September 12 in Kimberley.

He added that Lungisa should have raised concerns directly rather than through lawyers. The ANC is separately dealing with an Electoral Court case over 181 candidates omitted due to a technical glitch, affecting six municipalities, with a hearing set for September 15.

Lungisa has rejected offers from opposition parties to stand under their banners, stating he remains loyal to the ANC. His own court application is yet to be scheduled, while the party scrambles to resolve its broader candidate-list crisis ahead of the elections.