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Five candidates compete to lead Buffalo City after elections

Published

Ongoing: Elections Hot

The ANC has not yet named its mayoral candidate for Buffalo City Metro, although Princess Faku and Ncedo Kumbaca are seen as its frontrunners. The EFF, MK Party and UDM have named candidates for the 4 November local government elections.

Princess Faku chairs the ANC's Dr WB Rubusana region and has been Buffalo City mayor since March 2023. Ncedo Kumbaca, the other ANC frontrunner, is a former journalist and former Eastern Cape roads and transport spokesperson.

Mkhululi Dlevu is the EFF candidate. Mzwandile Vaaiboom stands for the MK Party and is a former ANC councillor. Nqabayomzi Kwankwa, the UDM deputy president, is the UDM candidate.

In the 2021 elections the ANC won 59.4% of the vote and 61 of 100 council seats. The EFF won 12.06%, up from 7.97% in 2016, and holds 12 seats. The DA holds 20 seats. The UDM has about 1% of the vote.

Dlevu said residents have been misled for more than 30 years and that the problem has moved beyond mismanagement to looting. He also argued that 80 law enforcement officers cannot serve 851,000 residents.

Vaaiboom said a criminal investigation over sewage flowing from Schornville into the Buffalo River names the mayor, speaker, city manager and accounting officers. Kwankwa blamed collapsing infrastructure on a lack of project management capacity and water engineers.

Key facts

Who
Princess Faku (ANC frontrunner for Buffalo City mayor; chairs the ANC's Dr WB Rubusana…); Ncedo Kumbaca (ANC Buffalo City frontrunner; former journalist and Eastern Cape roads and…); Mkhululi Dlevu (EFF mayoral candidate for Buffalo City); Mzwandile Vaaiboom (MK Party mayoral candidate for Buffalo City; former ANC councillor and Isanco…)
What
The article profiles candidates vying to lead Buffalo City Metro in the 4 November local government elections. It sets out each candidate's background, campaign priorities and the challenges they face, and notes the ANC has not yet named its mayoral candidate.
When
29 October 2026
Where
Buffalo City, Gqeberha, Zwide
Status
Reported

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