ANC’s new secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has announced that the ANC 55th National Conference would be adjourned to January 5 2023, two days before the party’s January 8th statement.
Mbalula said the conference, which was set to conclude on Tuesday, will be hybrid when it resumes next year, noting that his office would communicate the necessary details in due course.
Commission reports and the declaration procedures would be done then. The party was expected to announce its newly elected NEC members after the top seven were appointed on Monday. However, Mbalula said delegates need to go.
“Do not leave without voting today,” he said.
The conference kickstarted on Friday at the Nasrec Expo Centre. So far, it covered most of the items listed on the agenda, including the announcements of the ANC’s top seven.
The nation was shocked when President Cyril Ramaphosa was elected for a second term, beating former minister of health Zweli Mkhize, who was also vying for the position of party president.
In the total number of votes cast, Ramaphosa received 2 476 votes, while Mkhize scored 1 897. KwaZulu-Natal suffered the heaviest defeat as none of their preferred candidates made it to the party’s top seven.
Despite the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal having pronounced that it would back Mkhize, delegates confirmed on Monday that they had voted for Ramaphosa instead.
It was rumoured that the conference would conclude with an ANC that is more divided than ever. However, KwaZulu-Natal delegates who voted for Ramaphosa say they believe in unity, renewal and transformation of the party. They confirmed to Sunday World on Monday that the conference was actually a success.
Siphile Mdaka, regional chairperson of the Nokuhamba Nyawo region in KwaZulu-Natal, said: “This is the national conference of the ANC; of course we came here with a view in terms of leadership preferences, but we also came here with a particular position on issues of policies and the processes of the ANC. The elected leadership has a task to implement the policies of the ANC that had been agreed upon and ensure that they foster the unity of the ANC, which includes the renewal of the party.
“It is important for the ANC to appeal to people in general, so that we can be able to engage them and return the state’s power, because the ANC uses the state’s power to fulfil the wishes of our people. We are confident that the elected leadership will be able to do what needs to be done to ensure that we win the 2024 national election.”
For more political news and views, click here.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here.
