Fikile Mbalula: ANC's Plan to Regain Voter Trust and Achieve 50% in 2026 Elections

ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula is confident the party will shake off the crisis it finds itself in, and through disciplined endeavour it will assert its influence as the leading political party in the country. 

Mbalula was speaking at the ANC’s National General Council (NGC) meeting at the Birchwood Hotel in Ekurhuleni on Wednesday, when he spoke about a rejuvenated ANC that will contest the 2026 elections with the intention to claim 50% of the vote.

The party is on a mission to renew its image ahead of the 2026 Local Government Elections, by regaining public confidence that has been deeply eroded by waves of corruption scandals and indifferent service delivery efforts in ANC-led municipalities.

“The ANC will come back, and the ANC can get 50%. Leave that to what we are going to do for the campaign and to win back support." He singled out KZN and Gauteng as two of the provinces where the ANC hopes to finish as the big winners.

“We need to win big in KwaZulu-Natal, no doubt about it. We can have an in-depth discussion about the strategy of coming back and winning above 50% in the next election."

The May 2024 general elections marked the first occasion that the ANC lost its majority in parliament since the dawn of democracy in 1994, which then led to the party teaming up with others to form the Government of National Unity (GNU).

The DA, IFP, and Freedom Front Plus are some of the GNU members. Mbalula said the party is committed to rebuilding.

“What we are doing in this National General Council and beyond will account for the kind of work we are going to do. That includes the conduct of ANC structures and the work we are doing on the ground,” he said.

“We will not get above 50% if our preoccupation is fighting over scraps.” He added that the organisation was tightening discipline. “There are characters who are ill-disciplined, but there are not many, as you can see now. They are disappearing because of the interventions that have been made,” he said.

The NGC is reviewing the organisation’s performance. However, political analyst Solly Rashilo argued that the ANC is “definitely in a crisis.”

“The ANC is currently in a state of profound, multi-layered crisis, confirmed by both internal reports and external analysis,” he told IOL News.

“The crisis is driven by organisational decay, rampant factionalism, an unresolved integrity crisis due to corruption scandals, and a consistent electoral decline.” Rashilo said the 2026 local elections would be a crucial test.

Speaking with IOL News on the sidelines of the NGC, the party’s second deputy secretary-general, Maropene Ramokgopa, also dismissed claims of a crisis.

“The organisation cannot be in crisis because what makes the organisation are the branches of the ANC. We have constantly been dealing with organising itself, looking at branch functionality,” she said.

She pointed to the party’s branch functionality document, saying it helped to ensure branches are active and rooted in communities, not just present for conferences.

Ramokgopa acknowledged ongoing financial difficulties, including unpaid staff, but said the party was working to improve its resources. “We won’t be able to run an organisation if we are not resourced enough and if the people who are supposed to be serving us are not paid,” she said.

On Monday, unpaid ANC staff, represented by Nehawu, protested outside the venue. The ANC stated that discussions with the union were ongoing.

Meanwhile, Rashilo warned that the SACP’s decision to contest the 2026 local elections independently could further weaken the ANC.

“The party faces a highly challenging environment, with a fractured tripartite alliance and significant threats from new rivals like the MK party,” he said.

SACP general secretary Solly Mapaila has strongly criticised the formation of the GNU, arguing that the inclusion of the DA does not represent the interests of black people and workers.

The SACP said it will contest elections independently but will not withdraw from the tripartite alliance. Rashilo said the ANC’s long-term future depended on its ability to execute its “renew or perish” agenda.

“The most probable path is one of managed decline, where the party remains the largest but continues to slowly lose support, ruling through increasingly fragile coalitions. Fragmentation into multiple, competing factions remains a serious risk,” he said.

DAILY NEWS