MK Party cancels local government manifesto launch

The MK Party has cancelled its manifesto launch rally for the November 4 local government elections, opting instead to distribute its election programme electronically and focus on campaigning at ward level.

“The Siyathatha rally scheduled for October 18, 2026, has been cancelled to allow the party to focus its resources and efforts on community engagement and campaign activities at ward level,” the MK Party said in a statement on Tuesday.

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The decision comes as party leader and former president Jacob Zuma was admitted to a Pietermaritzburg hospital last week. There have been mixed messages from and the Jacob Zuma Foundation on the status of his health.

The manifesto will be distributed electronically to party structures and members on Thursday.

The party also announced the launch of its national Molo Makhelwane campaign, which will run until midnight on November 3, the eve of the elections.

The campaign will see party structures, councillor candidates and volunteers visiting households, engaging churches and listening to residents’ concerns across cities, townships, farms and villages.

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The shift to ward-level campaigning comes at a critical stage in the party’s preparations for its first local government elections since its formation.

The MK Party emerged as a major political force in the 2024 general elections, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, where it dealt a significant electoral blow to the ANC.

The cancellation comes amid growing anger among some party members over discrepancies in the final councillor candidate lists published by the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).

The party said an urgent independent investigation would be conducted into the discrepancies, with the findings to be submitted to its presidency for consideration.

It further said affected candidates who had been legitimately nominated through community meetings would be engaged directly.

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Candidates whose names had been omitted or inadvertently excluded would be prioritised for the first available positions, subject to party processes and requirements.

The party also resolved to establish deployment committees at national, provincial and regional levels to finalise the deployment of proportional representation councillors.