Cyril Ramaphosa and Zweli Mkhize in a two-horse race for ANC presidential position
Durban — On Tuesday it became apparent when former president Kgalema Motlanthe announced the top six for the upcoming ANC elective conference to be held at Nasrec in December, that the ANC presidential position is going to be a two-horse race.
Before announcing the ANC top six nominees, Motlanthe said: “Today marks an important occasion in the history of the ANC as we announce the final list of nominees for the positions of the officials of the NEC as we prepare for elections during the 55th National Conference, which shall take place in Nasrec from December 16-20.
“The additional 200 nominees for the NEC will be announced as soon as the votes have been consolidated, audited and all nominees have been vetted and have confirmed their availability for election during the conference.
“The nomination process started at the level of the ANC branches, and only branches that were in good standing and had achieved a quorum of 50% plus 1 qualified to nominate delegates and candidates for the various NEC positions.
“Our records indicate that a total of 3 543 out of a grand total of 3 982 branches in good standing have held successful Branch General Meetings that produced the approved outcomes of the nominations for both branch delegates and NEC candidates.
“This effectively means that 89% of the ANC branches have successfully participated in the nomination process, thus comfortably surpassing the 70% threshold required for the National Conference to take place as per the ANC’s constitution.
“In terms of the ANC’s constitution, the ANCWL and ANCYL are also treated as provinces regarding the NEC nomination processes. This situation resulted in the nominations by the leagues to be counted as a single nomination per league.
“After nominations at the conference are read, 25% of voting delegates could support the addition of a nominee to the ballot paper.”
The following ANC leaders will be the focal point at the much-anticipated conference in December:
President: Cyril Ramaphosa with 2 037 tallies, Dr Zweli Mkhize 916 tallies; for the position of deputy president nominations were Paul Mashatile with 1 791 tallies, Ronald Lamola with 427 tallies, and Oscar Mabuyane who received 397 nominations.
The ANC Chair position saw Stanley Mathabatha with 1 492 votes, Gwede Mantashe with 979, and David Masondo with 501 nominations announced.
For the position of secretary general, Mdumiseni Ntuli tallied at 1 225, Pumullo Masuale at 889, and Fikile Mbalula receiving 749 nominations.
For the deputy secretary general position Nomvula Mokonyane received 1 779 tallies, and Febe Potgieter got 905 nominations.
The treasurer-general position saw Benjamin Chauke garnering 552 nominations, Pule Mabe with 428 nominations, and Mzwandile Masina a paltry 348.
Political analyst Dr Ralph Mathekga said KZN province was pushing hard to have Dr Mkhize as the ANC candidate.
“As we are getting closer to the conference, the candidates must realise that they must reach a compromise in order to achieve unity … as we all know the ANC is still a divided organisation,” Mathekga said.
On the top six being announced on Tuesday, Professor Bheki Mngomezulu said: “It is worth noting that Cyril Ramaphosa has an advantage to retain the ANC presidency, by virtue that he is already the president of the ANC, and of the country.
“The fact that Dr Mkhize received 916 nominations does not equate to a loss. It must be noted that there could still be nominations from the floor at the conference, so it would be wise to wait until the day of the conference. Ramaphosa must not open the champagne yet,” Mngomezulu stressed.
Professor Sipho Seepe said that the people of South Africa were very angry about Ramaphosa’s leadership.
“The country has had too many challenges under Ramaphosa’s presidency, such as Eskom’s load shedding.
“The EFF’s Dali Mpofu once said: ‘The EFF believes the greatest gift one can give the EFF is to elect Ramaphosa again to be ANC president. Those who want Ramaphosa as the president, their interests don’t lie in the ANC, but to serve their own interests, and those of Ramaphosa.’”
Lukhona Mnguni added that the ANC presidential race looked like it was going to be a two-horse race between Ramaphosa and Mkhize, saying: “But of course there are those nominations that will still come from the floor. This is going to be the most interesting and surprising ANC elective conference that the country has ever seen or had.”
ANC Women’s League president Bathabile Dlamini said: “When we go to Nasrec we will be behind Dr Mkhize as our candidate. We are at a crossroads. If we lose this conference, it will be our death. This is about our future, our children, our land, and our minerals.”
In another matter, the KwaZulu-Natal ANC remained adamant that former president Jacob Zuma was not going back to prison.
On Monday, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) announced that then Correctional Services commissioner Arthur Fraser’s decision to release Zuma on medical parole was unlawful and unconstitutional.
“If the board’s recommendation is negative, that is the end of the matter – the commissioner cannot lawfully grant medical parole.”
Providing comment, Mngomezulu said Chief Justice Raymond Zondo was already conflicted in the matter concerning Zuma.
“It must be remembered that in handling this matter, Justice Zondo bypassed all the processes he should have followed, and went straight to the Concourt. If Zuma were to return to prison, what would happen with the parole period he has already served? It is worth noting that the court’s decision is ill-conceived and irrational,” Mngomezulu stressed.
Seepe said the country must accept that Justice Zondo was a disgrace.
“It is apparent that he had such an ingrained hatred towards Zuma. The country must not forget that he did not perform well in the chief justice candidature interviews, but was chosen because he is Ramaphosa’s man,” Seepe said.
Daily News