Candidates for the local government elections,

Friends and Comrades,

South Africans,

We have gathered here this evening a small sample of the nearly 10,000 ANC candidates from across the country who will contest the 2021 local government elections.

These 4,937 PR candidates and 4,468 ward candidates went through a rigorous and robust democratic process to select the most capable and committed representatives to work with the people of this country to build better communities.

In choosing candidates for the next term of local government, the ANC was determined that we should deepen community participation in the process and assign oversight of the selection process to an electoral committee led by the elders of our movement.

We want candidates who enjoy the confidence of the people they are expected to serve, who are rooted in communities and who have a strong record of service.

We want our candidates to reflect the great diversity of the South African people, reinforcing the reality that the

African National Congress – more than any other political formation in our country – represents the interests and the aspirations of the South African nation.

Full speech attached.