JOHANNESBURG, Gauteng — The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) has officially submitted its candidate lists to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) ahead of the 2026 Local Government Elections, clearing a crucial administrative hurdle before the November 4 deadline. This strategic move signals the party’s determined effort to convert its strong 2024 electoral momentum into tangible local government support nationwide.
According to party leadership, the MK Party has entered candidates for both ward and proportional representation contests across the majority of the country. While the party acknowledges that its operational footprint remains limited in certain parts of the Northern and Western Capes, it has aggressively targeted key urban centers. The party has already unveiled its mayoral candidates for major metropolitan municipalities, including Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, and eThekwini.
Addressing the party’s vision for the upcoming polls, the MK Party president stated that the core of their electoral approach is rooted in collective empowerment. The president emphasized that the black majority must unite to assume political power and actively use that authority to uplift their own living standards.
“This notion that we must be the majority but we don’t have real power, political and economic power, is a problem,” the MK Party president noted, urging a shift in civic consciousness. “The masses of the people of this country must wake up. They must understand that there’s no liberator for them who’s somewhere coming to liberate them.”
The party leadership stressed that voters must take responsibility into their own hands to drive meaningful change. When communities elect a local councilor, that representative must emerge directly from the community rather than being imposed upon it. Furthermore, the president outlined a strict expectation for ongoing accountability: once in office, councilors must be summoned by their constituents to report back, receive grievances, and hear the wishes and aspirations of the people they serve so they can perform on their behalf.
Critiquing the current political landscape, the MK Party president argued that the existing dynamic is fundamentally flawed. “Not what we have today where we have MPs, we’ve got councilors, we’ve got governments, even the state, they think that the bosses of the people is the other way around,” the president stated.
As the November 4 elections approach, the party’s overarching message to voters remains clear: the masses must be the masters of their own destiny.
