NATIONAL NEWS - With the nomination of ANC national conference candidates closing today, the party’s KwaZulu-Natal provincial leadership supporting former health minister, Zweli Mkhize, is confident of victory.
The ANC KZN leadership, which wants Mkhize to be the next party president, will soon be releasing outcomes of the party’s KZN branch nomination processes.
“Our position is that comrade Zweli should lead the ANC. We have no doubt that ANC branches in KZN and other provinces share the same view,” ANC provincial spokesperson, Mafika Mndebele, said.
With about 800 branches, KZN is the biggest ANC province in the country.
From this evening, the province’s nine regions would be sending branch general meetings (BGMs) nomination reports to the ANC provincial leadership.
Once all the reports are in, the ANC provincial executive committee (PEC) will hold a special meeting to consolidate reports before sharing the outcome of the nomination process with the public.
The ANC KZN PEC, which also wants former Gauteng premier Paul Mashatile to fill the party’s next deputy president position, has, among others, endorsed current Limpopo Premier Stanley Mathabatha, who will be vying for the ANC national chairperson position.
Other prominent ANC candidates being backed by the KZN PEC include former Eastern Cape premier, Phumulo Masualle, who is vying for the secretary general position.
While Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu have also joined the ANC presidential contest, political analysts believe that the party’s internal elections were likely to turn into a two-horse race between Mkhize and the incumbent President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa, who, like Mkhize, also enjoys support in key ANC provinces such as Eastern Cape, Gauteng and Free State, would be seeking a second term as party president.
Candidates perceived to be Ramaphosa’s running mates include former KZN premier Senzo Mchunu, who will be contesting the ANC deputy president position and current Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula, whose supporters want him to be the next ANC secretary general.
In the past, a substantial number of KZN’s about 800 branches were unable to conclude their nomination processes due to, among other things, disputes within the party’s branches.
However, Mndebele said the KZN provincial leadership has not received any reports of incidents of violence or other disturbances during the nomination processes.
As we speak, more than 80% of the branches have completed their nomination processes. As the ANC leadership in KZN we are proud of the fact that all the branch general meetings have been incident-free.
At the rate at which things are unfolding, we won’t be surprised if more than 90% of the branches in KZN conclude their nomination processes by the Monday deadline
The ANC elective conference, whose other purpose was to formulate the party’s policies, will take place in Johannesburg in December.
By late on Sunday afternoon, the ANC was yet to announce the exact date of the conference.
