Branches failing to meet deadline for nominations won't vote for next ANC president

ANC branches which have not wrapped up nominating their voting delegates for next month’s National Conference on Sunday will not be allowed to vote for the next ANC president.

This is what ANC General-Secretary Gwede Mantashe said on Sunday.

The deadline for nominations was Wednesday‚ but ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said branches were given a grace period until this weekend to finish their Branch General Meetings (BGMs).

Mantashe said he cannot give further feedback until midnight on Sunday on the progress of BGMs.

Once BGMs are complete the provinces and leagues will finalise their nominations.

At least 90% of the delegates at the National Conference will be represented by the branches. The rest will be allocated by the National Executive Committee (NEC) from members of the party’s Provincial Executive Committees‚ Veterans’ League‚ Youth League and the Women's League.

Mantashe said on Tuesday the NEC agreed that 5‚240 delegates will vote for the next ANC president in December. The party initially said there would be 4‚731 delegates‚ but this figure did not include the current NEC leaders‚ the Veterans’ League‚ Youth League‚ Women's League and an allocation for provincial leaders.

Mantashe said on Tuesday BGMs were close to 70% complete.