Motlanthe to ANC structures: Stop jumping the gun on leadership endorsements

23 September 2022 - 18:22
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Chairperson of the ANC electoral committee Kgalema Motlanthe has warned against leadership pronouncements.
Chairperson of the ANC electoral committee Kgalema Motlanthe has warned against leadership pronouncements.
Image: Freddy Mavunda

ANC electoral committee chair Kgalema Motlanthe has warned the party’s political structures against making pronouncements on their preferred leadership ahead of the national conference, saying this was against the rules.

Motlanthe, in a letter to Luthuli House on Friday which TimesLIVE has seen, threatened disciplinary action against those who continue to flout the rules and guidelines he and his team have formulated.

At least five ANC provincial executive committees (PECs) and two regional structures have made public their preferred candidates for various positions.

PECs that have made public their preferences include Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and Gauteng.

“The electoral committee is extremely disappointed and concerned about the recent pronouncement by certain provincial and regional structures regarding their preferred candidates for certain NEC positions to be elected at the 55th national conference to be held in December,” Motlanthe said.

Motlanthe asked the party’s acting secretary-general Paul Mashatile to issue a directive requesting all party structures to desist “from making these premature and undemocratic pronouncements of their preferred candidates”.

The guidelines by Motlanthe ahead of the conference make it clear that it should be only after the consolidation of all branch nominations when the provincial structures can make pronouncements. Such pronouncements would be made at the provincial general councils (PGCs) which would have given branches time to make their democratic choices on leadership preferences.

“The announcements by some provincial and regional structures on who they prefer to be nominated at the 55th national conference are noncompliant with the rules and spirit of the ANC constitution which empowers the branches of the ANC to act independently and without fear or favour when electing leaders at various levels of the organisation,” Motlanthe said.

The PECs in these provinces have endorsed president Cyril Ramaphosa’s second term bid while the eThekwini region has rallied behind former health minister Zweli Mkhize. 

Mashatile, cabinet ministers Ronald Lamola, Mamoloko Kubayi and Senzo Mchunu have also been endorsed by some of the provinces for the position of deputy president.

Motlanthe said his committee viewed such pronouncements as an “attempt” by provincial and regional structures to “influence” the nomination processes.

“The nomination and election process of the ANC as approved the NEC is a democratic, transparent and fair one which disallows factionalism through deals made by a few leaders working together in a dark room,” Motlanthe said.

“We wish to appeal to all leaders and members of the ANC to abide by the rules as failure to do so may result in disciplinary action and disqualification of the offenders from participating in the nomination processes leading to the 55th national conference.”

TimesLIVE

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