Johannesburg- In what could see many of the newly elected ANC councillors lose their jobs, ANC heavyweight Kgalema Motlanthe this week officially kick-started an appeal process against party candidates who were allegedly parachuted into ANC candidate lists.
Motlanthe’s appeal platform follows the party’s controversial councillors’ selection process that was marred by factional fights and hijacking of meetings.
In his capacity as the ANC elections committee chairperson, Motlanthe has called for formal complaints to be lodged regarding the party’s selection of candidates for the November 1 local government elections.
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In a searing critique of the ANC nominations procedure, Motlanthe last month warned against “gangsterism” in the ANC and lashed out at some of the unnamed cabinet ministers and their deputies, whom he accused of promoting divisions in the party during the course of carrying out their organisational and government duties.
The report, which was presented to the party’s special national executive committee meeting, pulled no punches.
Motlanthe said the governing party’s selection of candidates for the local elections was characterised by factional battles between those aligned to President Cyril Ramaphosa and the so-called RET (Radical Economic Transformation) Forces led by suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule.
“The state politics and factionalism have been entrenched to epidemic levels within the ANC. The manipulation of the candidate lists appears to be done to favour one of these factions depending on which faction is in charge at provincial, regional and branch levels,” he said during a virtual presentation.
In a letter dated November 8 to branches and structures of the party, Motlanthe said the process to resolve all outstanding disputes and appeals have commenced as he called on party members to start making submissions to provincial list committees. The latter committees have been tasked with collating and referring all the information to the electoral committee.
“We urge all comrades to be patient as we embark on this tedious process of resolving all outstanding disputes and appeals,” said Motlanthe.
Those found to have been selected in a manner deemed wrong would be recalled and by-elections will be held to replace them.
After the 2011 local elections, former president Jacob Zuma tasked then African Union chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to investigate allegations of irregularities in the selection of councillors.
Dlamini-Zuma’s report led to some councillors in key areas, including in KwaZulu-Natal, being chopped.
