South Africa: IFP Bets On Youth to Take Ethekwini

31 August 2026
Scrolla (Johannesburg)

· Inkatha Freedom Party President Velenkosini Hlabisa says the party is putting younger candidates forward as it fights for control of eThekwini.

· The Inkatha Freedom Party will contest across all nine provinces with more than 3,000 candidates, with most of them younger than 45.

The Inkatha Freedom Party is changing its game plan as it fights to take control of eThekwini.

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The party has chosen a former youth leader as its mayoral candidate and a taxi boss as running mate for the deputy mayor position.

Inkatha Freedom Party President Velenkosini Hlabisa announced the candidates on Monday morning ahead of the local government elections.

Hlabisa said the party has changed its strategy by putting more young people forward as candidates.

He said most of its candidates are younger than 45 and the party is also pushing for more women to take leadership positions.

"The IFP enjoys a strong presence of our candidates outside the traditional stronghold of the IFP," Hlabisa said.

"We have also dispelled the myth that the IFP is a regional and ethnic party."

He said the party has candidates from different racial groups in eThekwini to reflect the city's population.

The party has struggled for years to win eThekwini, which was an African National Congress stronghold for many years.

But the political picture changed after the 2021 local government elections when the African National Congress lost its outright majority in the metro.

It later relied on smaller parties to form a coalition government.

The Inkatha Freedom Party is now hoping its younger candidates can help it make further gains.

In uMhlathuze in Richards Bay, the party has chosen former student movement leader Xolani Ngwezi to seek a second term.

Hlabisa also announced Inkatha Freedom Party Youth Brigade Secretary Mlungisi Mabaso as the party's mayoral candidate for Johannesburg.

The party says it met the Independent Electoral Commission deadline to submit its candidates on Thursday.

Hlabisa said the Inkatha Freedom Party will contest across all nine provinces with more than 3,000 candidates.

He said choosing younger people and women sends a message about where the party believes political leadership should be heading.

Hlabisa said the party will soon hold its manifesto rally.

He promised the manifesto would not simply be a wish list but would set out practical plans for governing municipalities.

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