Lindiwe Sisulu lodges dispute with ANC electoral committee

ANC presidential hopeful Lindiwe Sisulu has lodged a dispute with the governing party’s electoral committee after she didn’t receive enough branch nominations to be included among the nominees vying for the ANC’s presidency.

ANC national elective conference

The head of the ANC’s electoral committee, former president Kgalema Motlanthe, on Tuesday announced the names of candidates who made the cut for the ANC’s top six leadership ahead of the party’s 55th national elective conference in mid-December.

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President Cyril Ramaphosa and former health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize were the only two nominees who received enough nominations from ANC members for the party’s presidential race.

Ramaphosa is in pole position to secure a second term as ANC president after he garnered 2 037 branch nominations while Mkhize received 916.  

Sisulu’s complaint

In a letter addressed to the ANC’s electoral committee, dated 24 November 2022, Sisulu claimed her name was excluded from the candidates who met the 25% threshold for the presidential race, even though her campaign team had information that she received enough branch nominations.

Sisulu, who serves as the minister of tourism in Cabinet, also accused the electoral committee of violating the ANC’s rules by not including the top three nominees for the presidential race.

“This act makes the electoral committee culpable to unjust practices and renders its processes in the outcomes as [a] biased referee in that our competitors are unilaterally promoted at the expense of rules and the choice of branches who entrusted in us such nomination.

“It would appear the rules were bent or blatantly, if not, deliberately ignored to treat our candidacy at a disadvantage,” her letter read.

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ANC electoral rules ‘violated’

Sisulu added that it was “incongruous” for the electoral committee to “discount or disregard” her name from the presidential nominees.

“We are pleading and imploring the electoral committee to consistently and faithfully enforce the rules to ensure that we have a credible, transparent and lawful conference as we all envisage.

“We stand ready, willing and able to provide you with records supporting our argument that we have met and exceeded the threshold.

“We have collected affidavits and records from branches that nominated us and we stand ready to assist you in this regard.”

The ANC’s electoral committee confirmed it received Sisulu’s letter and would be in touch with her campaign team.

The governing party is expected to hold its national congress from 16 to 20 December at the Johannesburg Expo Centre in Nasrec, in the south of Joburg.

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