ANC elective conference – Regions back Ramaphosa

The election of an avowed “Thuma Mina” advocate Stan Mathabatha for a third term and the elevation of Dada Morero as Joburg ANC chair have put President Cyril Ramaphosa in good stead towards ANC’s December conference.

Mathabatha’s victory despite the third term being a no-no in the ANC, was a deviation that indicated the party members were prepared to sacrifice principle for Ramaphosa’s sake. He has already bagged three other provinces – Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape and Northern Cape that all voiced their backing for his third term at the helm.

With KwaZulu-Natal considered out of reach for him because of its usual preference for a local Zulu candidate, he is expected to receive more backing from North West, Western Cape, Gauteng and Free State.

The Free State and North West were previously dominated by the radical economic transformation (RET) faction but the group seems to have run out of steam as the odds favoured Ramaphosa in both provinces.

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Mathabatha’s third term has also raised the question of whether this could be repeated at the national level – where the president of the ANC served a third term. Former ANC president Thabo Mbeki failed to achieve the feat and the party informally limited presidential terms to only two.

However, that is not a constitutional imperative because nothing prevented the party structures from electing a leader for a third term. Mbeki entered the race in 2007 on that basis. Mathabatha in January pronounced that Limpopo would support Ramaphosa for a second term of office as ANC president in at the next ANC national conference in December.

Many were shocked because it was regarded as too early, but it became a trend as Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape and Northern Cape declared they would be voting for Ramaphosa. It had always been rumoured Mathabatha was earmarked for a top position – both in the ANC national executive committee and national government.

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Meanwhile, Joburg ANC new regional chair Morero came out victorious against Eunice Mgcina, who performed considerably well since she entered the race at the last moment as she initially contested for the deputy chair position. It is understood Morero could influence the Ramaphosa support in Gauteng. – ericn@citizen.co.za