Mangaung Independent Candidates push community-first politics – SABC News

Independent candidates in Mangaung in the Free State, have urged voters to prioritise their communities over party-driven politics in the upcoming local government elections.

As the November local government elections draw closer, independent candidates have joined the fray to woo those, who have lost interest in voting.

Rather than relying on promises, independent candidates say they want to be councillors who account for their performance. Independent Candidates continue to feature prominently in South Africa’s multi-party democracy.

Even though independent candidates feel the playing field is not level enough to contest on an equal footing, they are willing to embark on the road less travelled.

An independent candidate, Themba Zweni, says many communities have become disillusioned by political parties and are looking for an alternative.

Zweni says despite facing financial hurdles and the high costs of participating in elections as an independent candidate, they remain committed to their mandate of rebuilding their communities.

WATCH | The Electoral Commission is urging political parties and aspiring independent candidates to take advantage of the opportunity to submit their candidate nomination and supporter list through the Online Candidate Nomination System. IEC’s James Aphane explains. pic.twitter.com/n4mgDTeIxK

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“That is why you find that there are very serious challenges with regard to financial barriers to entry for us as independents. You pay R1800 to contest a ward as an independent candidate but a party that gets funded pays R46.53 in the Mangaung area to contest a ward. What is that huge disparity? Why should we have that, you know, is to ensure that we do not have many independent candidates. Which is a major departure from what I have said. The Freedom Charter was very clear and said every man and woman shall stand and be elected,” says Zweni.

Zweni is currently a community activist but has previously served as a councillor. He says he resigned after realising that the community was not prioritised in party politics.

He now feels more connected to the needs of the community.

“As an independent candidate, I am not going there with a manifesto. I want the community to actually develop its own manifesto. It is the community that understands what is happening where they are. You know, interestingly, yesterday I met with a group of residents who have supported my nomination. What was interesting was that the majority of those who supported my nomination are youth. They did not support me because they knew me. They don’t listen to radio, they don’t normally watch TV and all these things. But they supported that simply because they felt something else is being said that this does not come from political parties. Therefore, we will go with that one, not because they know Themba Zweni, but because this one does not belong to a political party. That is the frustration that most of the electorate is sitting with,” adds Zweni.

Other Independent Candidates say they were persuaded by their communities to contest the upcoming elections.

⚠️ ATTENTION!

Today, 28 August 2026 @17h00, is the cut-off date for submissions.

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Parties and independent candidates are urged to finalise their submissions, via the Online Candidate Nomination System or hand-deliver to IEC local offices!

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“I didn’t initiate this journey to become an independent candidate on my own. I was approached and asked to become one. So, whatever I do, I’m not going to do it alone. We are going to do it together as a community. And I believe that, now that we have already started, we can do more and do better than what has been done or promised previously,” says an independent candidate.

“Generally, the feeling we get from the community is that there is a trust deficit between them and the established political organisations. So, the idea is to bring something new into a political space that is truly owned by South Africans,” says another independent candidate.

Many feel communities need to be empowered and educated so that they can understand that everyone can contest elections.