Forget about calculus, trigonometry or Einstein’s theory of relativity: nothing is more complex than the ANC’s internal voting processes. You’ll be hearing a lot about those procedures in the coming months because the party’s national elective conference is set for December. That’s where the future of both the party and the country will be decided.
Last weekend, the Eastern Cape leg of the conference got off to a rocky start after a faction backing Babalo Madikizela headed to the Eastern Cape High Court to prevent certain ANC branches from taking part. Things became increasingly nasty but, somehow, delegates managed to get down to business; Oscar Mabuyane was re-elected as the party’s Eastern Cape chairperson. ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa gave a closing address in which he praised conference delegates for “proving their critics wrong.” This despite the chaos that marked the conference. 👀
Ramaphosa will be feeling upbeat about Mabuyane’s win and will hope for the same continuity elsewhere. Success for his allies at the provincial level will be key to his aspirations of winning a second term as ANC president. But, as News24 explains, while Ramaphosa is widely expected to emerge victorious in December, it won’t be easy.
EWN has put together a handy guide that explains how new leaders are chosen at the ANC’s provincial conferences. Political animals may want to print it out and stick it to the fridge. After all, when the governing party sneezes, the rest of us invariably catch a cold – so it’s worth understanding the process
Tshego is a writer and law student from Pretoria. A keen follower of social media trends, his interests include high fantasy media, politics, science, talk radio, reading and listening to music.
He is also probably one of the only people left who still play Pokemon Go.
