ANC faces fierce fight in Ekurhuleni as MK party gears up for 2026 municipal elections

The Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) party and the ANC will go head-to-head for total control of the City of Ekurhuleni in the 2026 local government elections.

The MK party has identified Ekurhuleni as its stronghold in Gauteng. The party is expected to hold its first birthday rally there in December.

During a party rally on the weekend, Dali Mpofu, a senior leader of the MK party, said the party wants to gain control of the Ekurhuleni in the municipal elections.

The ANC lost power in Ekurhuleni in 2021. The party is now in a power-sharing agreement with the EFF and other smaller parties.

The ANC has several key positions in the council, including finance and the mayoral position.

ANC and MK party contest for votes

Speaking to The Citizen on Monday, ANC Regional Task Team (RTT) coordinator Jongizizwe Dlabathi said he is aware of the political danger the MK party poses.

“We have analysed the party’s performance with the recent elections. We would point out that it does have some footprint in some branches of the ANC in particular,” he said.

Dlabathi believes that some people in the Ekurhuleni support the MK party because of former President Jacob Zuma’s endorsement.

“The party’s leader is a former leader of the ANC who, for some reason, has a membership base who believes in him,” he said.

However, Dlabathi said there is concern about other new parties that could also threaten the ANC.

“Every political party that is established has a potential risk one way or the other to the African National Congress (ANC). As they establish themselves, there is a pattern of them poaching from the ANC,” he said.

‘ANC goes into elections to win’

On the other hand, he said he believed that the MK party’s support base contained an element of tribal loyalty.

“We cannot ignore the fact that there is tribal loyalty to the MK party. If you look at the areas where they got a substantial number of votes, there is a tribal element,” he said.

Dlabathi said the ANC hopes to win with an outright majority in the next local government elections.

“The objective of the ANC when it comes to contesting elections is quite clear.

“We want to win elections. As a leader of the ANC, I can’t say we are contesting to be part of a coalition,” he said.

He said that since the ANC took over the mayoral position in the City of Ekurhuleni, there have been renewed efforts to ensure better service delivery.

The MK party said it got substantial votes from the City of Ekurhuleni during the 2024 general elections.