ANC national elective conference under pressure as divisions deepen

With the ANC’s national elective conference just around the corner‚ the party’s Eastern Cape members who lost their court bid challenging the validity of the provincial conference will have little time to challenge the ruling‚ according to analysts.

On Monday the East London High Court struck off the roll an application by members of the ANC who had approached the court to stop the conference‚ claiming they were illegally excluded from it.

The court ruled that there was no urgency in the matter and that it had not been properly enrolled.

Political analyst Professor Shadrack Gutto said the ANC in the Eastern Cape was in crisis. He said those who lost‚ would have to abide by the court ruling or appeal.

“They may have a chance to appeal‚ but the time [between now and the national elective conference] is short for those who are proposing to do anything. They have to appeal on an urgent basis and whether that application will be heard on an urgent basis‚ will be for the court to decide‚” said Gutto.

The judgment on Monday‚ according to political analyst Ralph Mathekga‚ shows there is no consensus in the ANC.

“This issue is not going to be resolved. There is a possibility for members to try the court route again to find if they have further legal recourse.”

Mathekga said the factions within the party in the Eastern Cape will put the national conference under pressure.

“There is much motivation for people to disrupt the conference. It can be disrupted by violence or by going to court‚” Mathekga added.

Oscar Mabuyane was elected as the party’s provincial chairperson at the weekend amid deep-rooted divisions that resulted in a physical brawl‚ leaving many injured.

Mabuyane received 935 votes while Masualle only got seven.