The National Freedom Party (NFP) says it wants to restore stability within its ranks to honour the legacy of its founding president, the late Zanele KaMagwaza-Msibi.
More than 600 delegates attended the party’s national elective conference in Durban on Friday. But glitches in the registration process delayed the conference for hours.
The party which was founded in 2011 has been facing leadership squabbles since the passing of kaMagwaza-Msibi.
The elective conference is expected to see delegates elect new leadership, but issues of validity continue as senior NFP members have received suspension letters barring them from participating in all party activities.
Among them are Zandile Myeni and Ivan Barnes who are nominees for the position of president. Both candidates say they don’t recognise the suspension letters.
Barnes says he does not recognise the SG Canaan Mdletshe and will continue to attend the conference.
While Myeni says that the divisions in the party cannot allow certain delegates to use personal vandetta’s to settle points, stressing that she will continue to attend the elective conference.
This leadership battle has resulted in the Independent Election Commission (IEC) giving the NFP until March to get its house in order.
Scenes at the second Elective Conference of the NFP. #NFP #NFP2024 #MyNFP #NFPYabantu #NFPConference pic.twitter.com/dicOlX6zgt
— National Freedom Party – NFP (@NFP_Updates) December 15, 2023
One of the nominees for a leadership position in the NFP, Barnes explains why there have been delays.
“The other challenge we’re expecting is little discrepancies on our voters’ roll. So our credentials are still questionable. Some of our delegates thought they came as a delegate only to find out on the voters’ roll that they are not delegates. They are querying those things. There’s a lot of objections going on. So those are the minor delays. From what I’m seeing as a delegate, the company that was employed or hired to come and do a job is doing us a disservice as the National Freedom Party.”
NFP Elective Conference in KZN set to start on Friday: Jayed Paulse reports:
