Voting under way at ANC Gauteng conference

Voting is currently under way at the ANC Gauteng provincial conference at The Lakes Hotel in Benoni.

The 1117 delegates at the conference will pick a new provincial chair between the two MECs Lebogang Maile and Panyaza Lesufi.

They will also vote for the rest of the top five and the provincial executive committee.

The contest between the two is said to be close so the margin is expected to be very small.

Both factions claim they will emerge victorious when the results are announced later on Sunday evening.

Both Maile and Lesufi accepted nomination for the chair position on Sunday after talks for a unity slate collapsed. 

Some leaders from the regions in the province held intense negotiations in an attempt to have an uncontested conference. They had tried to get Lesufi and Maile to agree that one becomes chair and the other his deputy. These negotiations are said to have collapsed after Ekurhuleni and Sedibeng failed to come to the table. 

The position of provincial secretary is hotly contested with three party heavyweights vying for it.

Jacob Khawe, who is standing alone, is seeking re-election but will face off against Thulani Kunene who appears on a slate with Lesufi and TK Nciza who is Maile’s running mate.

For the deputy chair position Mzi Khumalo is up against Nomantu Ralehoko.

Tasneem Motara, nominated from the floor, goes head-to-head with Nomathemba Mokgethi for the position of deputy provincial secretary.

Paul Mojapelo is up against Morakane Mosupyoe for provincial treasurer after Bandile Masuku declined nomination.

Whoever gets elected as chair will have a huge task of arresting the electoral decline in the party.

The party has become less and less popular in the province and has been on a steady electoral decline in the past six general and local government elections.

For the first time since the advent of democracy, the party is expected to drop below 50% in the province in the 2024 general elections.

This means to govern the province, the ANC will have to enter into a coalition. However, depending on how far below 50% the party drops, there is an opportunity for the opposition party to put together their own coalition essentially kicking the ANC out.

This was seen in the three Gauteng metros after last year’s local government elections where DA-led coalitions kicked the ANC out of government.

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