This week Cosatu resolved to support Ramaphosa to take over from Jacob Zuma as the next president of the party in 2017 and to take over as president of the country in 2019.
Cosatu is the first in the alliance to pronounce on its preference and comes after the ANC last week released a statement urging its affiliates to steer clear of the leadership debate until the appropriate time. The South African Communist Party has not expressed its views yet.
"The right to elect the leadership of the African National Congress including the right to elect its leader‚ is a right reserved for members of the African National Congress‚ the branches of the ANC in good standing‚ and that right is not transferable to the alliance partners; it's not transferable to the leagues‚ it's only the for the members of the ANC in good standing‚" said party spokesperson Zizi Kodwa.
He was addressing journalists on Friday afternoon at St George Hotel in Irene‚ where the party is holding its second meeting with party veterans‚ who wanted to discuss concerns about the ANC and Zuma's fitness to hold office as party and country president.
"Sometimes there's a notion which undermines the efforts of fostering unity ... this notion of kingmakers is destroying and undermining the efforts‚” said Kodwa.
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"We are not discussing names‚ so officially the ANC has not opened the debate of succession. That's why we find it strange that these premature pronouncements are not helping to contribute against fostering unity."
Cosatu’s stance is seen as a blow for Zuma and his allies‚ who are pushing for African Union commission chairwoman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to take over.
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