ANC electoral committee chairperson Kgalema Motlanthe has told Lindiwe Sisulu to accept the democratic processes of the party.
This after Sisulu disputed the branch nomination process which saw her failing to make it to the ballot for the position of president.
Early in the week, the electoral committee said only ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa and former health minister Zweli Mkhize garnered enough votes to contest for the powerful position.
Sisulu, who had launched an aggressive campaign to dislodge Ramaphosa when the party elects its new leaders in December, has complained that not all the disputes from branches have been resolved.
She also questioned why the top three candidates who received the most nominations for the presidency position were not accommodated, like in other positions that saw three people making the shortlist.
In a letter to Sisulu, Motlanthe wrote that there was no prejudice to her. He also extended an invitation to the tourism minister to prove that the nomination process was unfair.
“Failure to produce evidence of inconsistency between the official results and your own personal numbers is not helpful, as this results in you merely casting aspersions on the integrity of the ANC electoral committee processes and procedures without any facts and figures,” wrote Motlanthe.
“Our official records indicate that you only received a total of 66 nominations, which is dismally less than the 25% claimed in your notice of dispute. In this regard, you would not even qualify to be amongst the top three nominees for the position of the president.”
Data from Motlanthe’s team show that Ramaphosa is in pole position to retain his position as ANC leader.
With nearly all the party branches across the country having nominated their preferred leaders, Ramaphosa received the nod from 2 037 branches while his challenger Mkhize was favored by 916 branches.
Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and her tourism counterpart Sisulu, who have both expressed a desire to unseat Ramaphosa, failed to make the cut.
However, they can still be nominated from the floor of the elective conference, should they garner at least 25% of the votes.
ANC treasurer-general Paul Mashatile is leading the race for the deputy president position with 1 791 nominations. Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola received 427 and Eastern Cape chairperson Oscar Mabuyane is third with 397.
The nominations spell doom for incumbent ANC deputy president David Mabuza, who now must rely on delegates to the conference to give him a fighting chance.
The race for the powerful secretary-general position, currently held by suspended Ace Magashule, seems to be going down the wire. Former KwaZulu-Natal secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli is leading the pack with 1 225 nominations, followed by Phumulo Masualle with 889 and Fikile Mbalula with 749.
A two-horse contest between Nomvula Mokonyane and Febe Potgieter-Gqubule is unfolding with Mokonyane having garnered 1 779 nominations against Potgieter-Gqubule’s 905. The ultimate winner will replace the late Jessie Duarte as deputy secretary general.
Incumbent national chairperson Gwede Mantashe seems to have a fighting chance to retain his position.
Mantashe, who is also the minister of energy and mineral resources, has received 978 nominations, second to ANC Limpopo leader Stan Mathabatha who got the nod from 1 492 branches and Deputy Minister of Finance David Masondo who received 501 nominations.
Former president Jacob Zuma, who has raised his hand for the chairperson position, will also have to convince delegates why he is worthy to be nominated.
The tightest race seems to be the one for treasurer-general, with Ramaphosa’s political advisor Bejani Chauke leading the pack with 552 nominations, followed by the party’s spokesperson Pule Mabe with 428 and former Ekurhuleni mayor Mzwandile Masina with 348 nominations.
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