Despite trailing President Cyril Ramaphosa during ANC branch nominations for presidential candidates, former health minister Zweli Mkhize still has a chance to mobilise support ahead of the party’s elective conference.

According to the ANC branch nomination results announced by the party’s electoral committee chairperson, former president Kgalema Motlanthe, on Tuesday, Ramaphosa was nominated by 2 037 party branches across the country while Mkhize received 916 nominations.

Both Ramaphosa and Mkhize have qualified to contest for the ANC presidency while their other rivals, including former AU chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, could not get enough nominations to qualify as candidates.

The fact that Mkhize, who hails from Pietermaritzburg’s Willowfontein township, received enough nominations to contest the presidency puts him in a good position to lobby ANC delegates ahead of the elective conference.

According to ANC conference guidelines, the more than 4 000 delegates who will have voting rights at the conference, still have to cast their votes individually at the actual conference.

Two KZN candidates

The nominations results show that KZN will have two candidates contesting for the ANC’s top six leadership positions.

This is after former ANC KZN provincial secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli, who received 1 225 nominations, qualified to contest for the ANC secretary-general position.

The KZN ANC provincial executive committee (PEC), which endorsed Mkhize, had opted to back Eastern Cape premier Phumulo Masualle for the ANC secretary general position, instead of Ntuli.

Masualle, who received 889 nominations, also qualified to contest the ANC secretary-general position.

Despite the nominations showing that Ntuli was more popular than Masualle, ANC provincial spokesperson Mafika Mndebele said the province will not change its position.

“As KZN, we are backing comrade Masualle for the position of secretary-general. Nothing has changed.
More than anything, we are encouraged by the fact that comrade Masualle’s name will be on the ballot.”

Given that more than 70% of the ANC branches successfully participated in the nomination processes, Motlanthe said the party will now move to the next phase — which is voting for the conference delegates.

“Our records indicate that a total of 3 543 out of a grand total 3 982 branches in good standing have held successful branch general meetings which produced the approved outcomes of the nominations for both branch delegates and NEC candidates.”

Motlanthe, who did not release nomination results per province, said candidates who did not get enough branch nominations still had an opportunity to be nominated from the floor.

For candidates nominated from the floor to make it into the ballot, 25% of the conference delegates should vote for them.

Apart from Dlamini-Zuma and Sisulu, candidates who did not make it into the ballot include Deputy President David Mabuza, who was vying for the president position, Human Settlements Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi and Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu both of who were eyeing the deputy president position.

Current ANC acting deputy secretary-general Gwen Ramokgopa, who was vying for the ANC secretary-general position, also did not make it onto the ballot.

The ANC national elective conference, which will be held at Johannesburg’s Nasrec Expo Centre, will take place between December 16-20.