South Africa’s ANC has issued a directive connected to a Khayelitsha dispute in which community members have protested and argued for greater influence over candidate selection. The order comes from ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula, who instructs ANC branches to respect the community’s preferred candidates. The directive is presented as a way to align party processes more closely with local preferences after unrest in Khayelitsha. Multiple parts of the reporting describe the instruction as applying to ANC branches involved in selecting candidates ahead of the 2026 elections. While the reports focus on the political context and the party’s response, they describe the core point consistently: Mbalula’s message reinforces community voices in how ANC candidates are chosen in Khayelitsha. The coverage does not provide detailed figures on the protests, specific candidate names, or the full procedural mechanism by which the community’s preferences are to be reflected, but it frames the directive as a response aimed at reducing further tension by acknowledging community input in the selection process.