There had to be consequences for the candidate list bungles in Nelson Mandela Bay, African National Congress (ANC) spokesperson Zizi Kodwa has said.

Speaking about the candidate list issues, which have led to protests in various areas, he said one bungle was one too many, but that they were being dealt with.

Some of the bungles could not even be explained, he said at a media briefing at the Dan Qeqe Stadium on Thursday.

This includes a blunder in Uitenhage’s Ward 43, where the ANC would not be contesting at all.

A bungle led to the wrong person being registered as the candidate and the mistake was only picked up after the IEC's deadline.

“We can’t explain Ward 43. Someone must explain. There are certain names that are double parked. Someone in Ward 40 is also in Ward 50, and we can’t explain it," he said.

He speculated that they might be administrative errors and that the ANC had taken a decision that there had to be consequences.

"What happened where? There has got to be consequences. Instead of making general statements, we were told by the [Bantu Church of Christ bishop] that the people who made this mess must be punished."

He said that was why there had to be accountability.

He said on Thursday that they were humbled by the communities that had understood when told to vote for the ANC, and not for the person on the poster or placard.

"We said, where after elections we have found that a certain Zizi Kodwa has won a ward and yet he is the wrong candidate, we must replace them. There are no two ways about it."

He said they had already had an undertaking from candidates who knew they were on the list "wrongly", that they would make way after the elections.

Right now, he said, the party could not do anything about the candidates on the ballot, even those who had died.

Kodwa expressed confidence that the ANC would win back Ward 30, after the United Democratic Movement took it during by-elections in 2015.

"After we lost, we went immediately to the ward to find out what happened. All of them, they said they were ANC and they were disappointed that we fielded the wrong candidate during the by-elections last year.

"They said the previous councillor, who had died, had listened to their problems, and we listened to them."

The ward had been given a candidate which enjoyed the support of the community, he said.

"I think, even if we were to have an election of just Ward 30 tomorrow, it is already back to the ANC."