ANC implements Motlanthe report, faces potential by-election losses

The Kgalema Motlanthe-led ANC electoral committee report is to be finally implemented by the party to reinstate councillors robbed of their elected positions during the 2021 local government elections (LGE-2021).

Issue will triggger by-elections

But the issue will trigger a series of by-elections, some of which the ANC may lose. It feared if many wards were lost it could lose its majority to the opposition in several councils.

In North West, at least two wards would be declared vacant and contested in Madibeng local municipality as bogus councillors illegally placed on candidate lists would be removed.

At least two wards in Rustenburg, two in Matlosana and one in Moses Kotane municipalities would also be up for grabs.

Only the original LGE-2021 candidates would be allowed to participate in the by-elections, while bogus councillors occupying the seats would be fired and charged for violating party rules.

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Although two seats are mentioned in Matlosana, there are disputes where bogus individuals were introduced in wards one, six, 13, 14, 26, 27, 28 and 36 to replace candidates chosen by the community in 2021.

The North West ANC provincial executive committee and the regional executive committees have been tasked with doing a political risk assessment to determine which wards were “winnable” before by-elections were held.

This meant the process would be done selectively and only in wards where the ANC was confident of victory.

Illegal or parachuted councillors would be kicked out

In winnable wards, sources say, the illegal or parachuted councillors would be kicked out and the original candidates allowed to contest the by-election.

But in cases where an ANC victory was uncertain or unlikely, the parachuted councillors would be allowed to stay, to prevent the need for a by-election.

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In this instance, the democratically selected candidates would be “sacrificed and convinced from the top to stand down in favour of the parachuted person”.

The party bowed to massive pressure from its branches to implement the Motlanthe Report recommendations after it resisted for the past two years.

The branches demanded that their nominated candidates be reinstated after they were removed from candidates lists submitted to the Electoral Commission of South Africa for the LGE-2021.

Originally, a total of 155 were found to have been affected by manipulation of lists in different wards. But the ANC selected 89 to process which could trigger more dissatisfaction in unattended cases.

The cheating prior to LGE-2021 saw names of candidates nominated by ANC branches and communities replaced by politically connected individuals without the knowledge of communities.

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This caused a revolt by branches and communities who threatened to boycott the ANC in the 2024 general elections unless the matter was rectified.

Evidence of manipulation of the lists

The Motlanthe committee, assisted by provincial list committees, probed the matter and found extensive evidence of manipulation of the lists.

The committee recommended that the original candidates be reinstated and the illegal councillors removed.

The parachuted councillors, those who interfered with the process and the bogus names on the lists were expected to be disciplined.

But this could derail top-level ANC leaders including, Cabinet ministers, MECs, mayors, chief whips and other senior officials were allegedly behind the cheating.

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