The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party) has unveiled six mayoral candidates as it steps up its preparations for the 2026 Local Government Elections, with the party saying the candidates will become the faces of its campaign across some of South Africa’s biggest municipalities.
The party announced its candidates on Friday following a two-day meeting of its National Officials in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, held under the leadership of party president Jacob Zuma.
The MK Party named candidates for six metropolitan municipalities, including Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, eThekwini, Mangaung, Buffalo City and Nelson Mandela Bay.
The candidates are Bongani Baloyi for Johannesburg, Thulani Shongwe for Ekurhuleni, Zandile Hlophe-Mkhwanazi for eThekwini, Mapaseka Mothibi for Mangaung, Mzwandile Vaaiboom for Buffalo City and Mvuleni Map for Nelson Mandela Bay.
MK Party secretary-general Sibonelo Nomvalo described the candidates as the party’s “new flowers” and said they would be expected to represent the organisation as it contests municipalities across the country.
“We’ve got new flowers to present to the nation,” Nomvalo said.
Nomvalo said the party had applied what he described as a rigorous and scientific process in selecting the candidates.
“Regarding the criteria that we have used to appoint these members, we’ve been meticulous and we have used a scientific criteria which is based on their profile,” he said.
“And which is based on their historical contribution and credentials in the revolution.”
The party said it would publish the profiles of all six candidates, allowing voters and the media to scrutinise their backgrounds and experience ahead of the election.
Nomvalo also sought to assure voters that the candidates had been properly vetted.
“None of them have criminal records,” he said.
“They all have good histories of their own. And they are all capable.”
He described the candidates as community builders who were known and active in their respective communities.
“We have not elected people here with no clear and progressive credentials. They’ve got proper credentials,” Nomvalo said.
He said the candidates would be expected to engage directly with voters and the media in the coming months through public meetings, panel discussions and election debates.
“You’ve got two months to assess them,” Nomvalo said.
The announcement represents an important step for the relatively young party as it seeks to translate its national political presence into local government support.
The MK Party’s National Officials said preparations for the elections had advanced significantly, including the finalisation of its “People’s Mandate”, strengthening election operations, dealing with disputes involving councillor candidates and mobilising volunteers and supporters.
The party said its People’s Mandate would be formally released on 4 September.
It has also announced what it describes as a major expansion of its membership base.
According to the party, it has registered more than 300 000 new members since June 16.
The MK Party said the growth demonstrated increasing confidence in the organisation and would strengthen its grassroots structures ahead of the local government elections.
It is also preparing to launch the “ASIBUYELE EBANTWINI” campaign, translated as “Let Us Return to the People”.
The campaign calls on MK Party members and supporters to wear the party’s green colours and increase the party’s visibility in communities and on social media.
“From this moment, we return to the people,” the party said.
“We will enter every city, every town and every village. We will go to every community and every household with the message and People’s Mandate of the MK Party.”
The party is also establishing an election operations centre in Johannesburg, dubbed the “Gwaza Election Operations Centre”.
The centre is intended to monitor election results in real time, coordinate election operations and respond to potential irregularities during the electoral process.
The MK Party said it had also put mechanisms in place to monitor alleged vote disruptions and other challenges that could arise during the elections.
But the biggest immediate task for the party will be taking its newly announced mayoral candidates into communities and convincing voters that it can translate its growing political support into effective local government.
Nomvalo expressed confidence in the six candidates and challenged the public to assess them over the coming months.
“They will attend panel discussions, debates, and they will be addressing big platforms in different areas,” he said.