Fikile Mbalula has stated this clearly in recent public remarks, emphasising that there is no waiver option for mayoral candidates (unlike the more flexible approach being applied to ordinary ward councillor candidates).
This is part of a broader push the party has framed as addressing what it acknowledges as a “bigger challenge” of weak capacity, poor governance, and service-delivery failures in many municipalities. The rules were developed and approved by the ANC’s National Executive Committee (with guidelines finalised around November 2025) and are being applied in the ongoing centralised selection process for mayors in metros, secondary cities, and other municipalities ahead of the 4 November 2026 polls.
What the rules actually require
- Mayoral candidates: A university postgraduate qualification (Mbalula’s explicit formulation) plus relevant experience in running a municipality or operating in “sophisticated economies.” Earlier public nomination materials referenced a tertiary qualification at NQF Level 7 (roughly bachelor’s degree equivalent in the South African system) plus at least five years’ experience in local government, public institutions, governance, or executive leadership, plus skills in strategic planning, financial management, performance management, and labour relations. The recent emphasis has hardened around postgraduate credentials and no exceptions.
- Ward councillor candidates: Matric (Grade 12 / NQF 4) is the baseline. Popular or experienced candidates without it can apply for a waiver through the ANC’s electoral committee, but they must sign a pledge to obtain matric or an equivalent accredited qualification within 12 months of becoming a councillor or face removal. New entrants face a stricter preference for those who already hold matric.
- Additional filters include integrity requirements (no criminal records, no pending disciplinary matters before the party’s integrity commission) and, in some cases, limits on consecutive terms for sitting mayors.
These are party rules, not national legislation. Under the Constitution and the Municipal Structures Act, any citizen eligible to vote in a municipal election can stand as a councillor; there is no statutory educational minimum for elected political office-holders (in contrast to appointed municipal managers and senior officials, who face regulated competency requirements under the Municipal Systems Act). The ANC is choosing to impose a higher bar on its own candidates.
Context and drivers
South African local government has long struggled with capacity deficits. Auditor-General reports, SALGA data, and academic analyses have repeatedly highlighted problems ranging from weak financial oversight and irregular expenditure to basic failures in water, electricity, roads, and refuse collection. SALGA has noted that a substantial share of councillors (historically cited in the mid-20% range) lack even matric, and many municipalities have cycled through unstable coalitions, frequent mayoral changes, and skilled-professional shortages. The ANC itself has acknowledged that “deployment” practices sometimes prioritised political loyalty or factional strength over technical competence.
The 2026 rules represent an evolution of earlier (and only partially enforced) attempts to raise standards. Similar debates and partial criteria appeared before the 2021 local elections, but implementation was uneven and regional branches sometimes prioritised experience or popularity over formal qualifications. The current process is more centralised for metros and key cities (national officials driving selection after public nominations, vetting, and interviews), with the party having already released pools of finalists rather than immediate single candidates in some places. The explicit goal is to field “the best of the best” and present a more credible face on governance and service delivery.
Multiple angles and trade-offs
Potential upsides:
- Higher formal education can improve the ability to interpret complex municipal budgets, legislation (MFMA, Systems Act, Structures Act), technical reports, and integrated development plans. It may also signal seriousness to voters, investors, and skilled professionals the municipalities need to attract and retain.
- In principle, it could reduce the incidence of mayors who are out of their depth on financial sustainability, infrastructure planning, or intergovernmental coordination — problems that have contributed to dysfunctional municipalities and declining trust in local government.
- Combined with experience requirements and integrity filters, it aligns with broader calls (including from the Auditor-General) for political parties to prioritise capability when selecting candidates.
Limitations and risks:
- Formal qualifications are imperfect proxies for competence, integrity, or leadership. Plenty of highly credentialed people have performed poorly in office, while some effective leaders have succeeded without postgraduate degrees (or even tertiary education). Practical experience, political skill, community legitimacy, ethical character, and the quality of the surrounding administration and political collective often matter more.
- The rule narrows the candidate pool, particularly in rural or smaller municipalities and among older cadres whose education was disrupted by apartheid-era restrictions or the struggle. It risks privileging urban, middle-class, or already-networked individuals and could alienate community-rooted activists who lack the credentials but command local trust.
- Enforcement will be tested. Parties frequently face internal pressure to accommodate popular or factionally powerful figures. Waivers (for councillors) and creative interpretations of “equivalent” qualifications could reintroduce the very flexibility the rules aim to close. Public and media scrutiny of the final lists will be intense.
- Because this is an ANC internal rule, other parties are free to set (or ignore) their own standards. Voters will still confront a mixed field, and coalition arithmetic in hung councils can still produce unexpected mayors.
- Education alone does not solve deeper structural problems: weak revenue bases in many municipalities, skills shortages in the administration, political interference in appointments, cadre deployment culture more broadly, and national economic constraints that limit what local government can deliver.
Broader implications
This policy shift is occurring against a backdrop of intense competition. Most major opposition parties had already named mayoral candidates or shortlists earlier; the ANC’s slower, more process-heavy approach (including public nominations and delayed final announcements in some metros) reflects both its attempt at greater professionalism and internal contestation over key cities. Service delivery, municipal finances, and governance competence are central campaign themes. Whether the postgraduate rule produces visibly better outcomes will depend on implementation quality, the actual candidates selected, the administrative teams around them, and whether voters reward the signal.
In comparative perspective, educational thresholds for political office vary widely. Some countries impose minimal formal requirements; others (or specific parties within them) set higher bars. South Africa’s constitutional design deliberately keeps the barrier to elected office low to maximise democratic participation, while regulating appointed officials more tightly. The ANC’s choice is therefore a political judgment about what its brand and electoral fortunes require in 2026, not a change in the legal framework for local government.
The real test will come in the quality of the final candidate lists, how rigorously the rules are applied across provinces and municipalities of different sizes, and — most importantly — whether better-credentialed leadership correlates with improved municipal performance after the elections. Formal qualifications are a starting filter, not a guarantee of better governance.
