The ANC Elective Conference underway in Mangaung is off to a slow start due to tensions as to who are rightful delegations eligible to play a role in the conference and subsequently vote for the leadership of the party, writes political analyst Ralph Mathekga.
The main contentious issue regarding this conference is centred on the delegations. There have been protracted tensions across different provinces, regions and branches regarding the process of nominating and electing delegations.Most of the contentions regarding the nominations processes and the election of delegations were left unresolved. The ANC national leadership through the National Executive Committee (NEC) has been improvising; trying to resolve the tensions as they emerged across different provinces.
The interventions by the NEC over the last few months have not been that successful and some of the problems were then brought into Mangaung conference. A compromise has been reached in resolving these problems, or else the conference will collapse.
I think all ANC members, irrespective of what faction they might be coming from, would not like to see the elective conference deteriorating into a disaster.
– By OPINION: Political Analyst Ralph Mathekga
