Will an uncontested ANC elective conference fix the party?

The ANC Youth League in Limpopo wants young people to dominate the ANC’s national executive committee [ANC NEC] in the upcoming party’s elective conference in 2027.

The league’s ambition comes a week before the party holds its 27th national elective conference from 14 to 17 December 2025, at the Limpopo Turfloop Campus in Mankweng. 

Speaking to The Citizen, league provincial secretary, Phineas Sebola, popularly known in Limpopo politics as Boko, said the province was expecting more than 4 000 delegates from all corners of the country to participate in the conference.

Sebola added that Limpopo will send a total of 579 branch delegates from 579 branches; each branch contributing one delegate to the conference.

“The venue is confirmed, and we have already started with preparations for this big event. We are now on the way to the campus with the first ANC deputy secretary-general [DSG], comrade Tsakani Shiviti, to assess the venue for the safety and [ensure a] warm welcome of our delegates next week,” said Sebola.  

“We are sitting with a theme: ‘Economic freedom and social change now’. This is a call by all structures of the ANCYL to unchain the country’s economic patterns from the hands of the minority, in the interests of the majority.

“In its practical terms, we’re calling for the state to introduce export quotas to ensure that all mineral resources and other raw materials in the country benefit the people of South Africa.

“We further say that not more than 70% of our raw materials must be allowed to leave the country. In light of this, we are calling on the ANC to create a mechanism to manage leadership quotation.”

What’s on the agenda?

The Citizen was reliably informed that three items would dominate discussions at the conference: ANC Youth League president Collen Malatji should replace Fikile Mbalula as ANC secretary-general; Mbalula should replace Cyril Ramaphosa as party president at the party’s national conference in 2027; and a single-slate plan conference where there would be no contestation for positions. 

But Sebola refused to be drawn into commenting.

“I don’t know anything about that, and I can not comment on something I know nothing about,” he said.

ALSO READ: ANC gives verdict on Limpopo conferences plagued by infighting

Confidence in Malatji

An ANCYL insider, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal as he was not tasked to speak on this matter, had only this to say: “Malatji is a tried and tested cadre of the ANC.”

“He knows this organisation inside out, and the writing is on the wall: Mbalula is the best-known cadre of the movement at this time and age, and is suitable enough to lead the party to greener pastures.

“He has been the president of the youth league for ages, and now the engine of the party. He is the only rare breed of the ANC needed to continue driving Ramaphosa’s renewal programme, and bring the party to its former glory,” said the source.

But will a united slate work?

Political analyst Solly Rashilo said, on paper, the argument was seductive. 

“A negotiated, single slate, they say, would allow the movement to focus on service delivery, youth unemployment and economic renewal rather than personality clashes.

“There is merit in the diagnosis. The ANC’s electoral decline is directly linked to the perception, and often the reality, that its conferences are auctions for state power rather than policy forums.”

An uncontested conference, Rashilo said, could, in theory, project stability to a weary electorate and spare the party the legal challenges over delegates that have become routine.

“Yet, beneath the rhetoric of unity lies a more familiar story: early succession manoeuvring dressed up as principle. For now, the youth league’s resolution will probably pass comfortably at Turfloop.

Malatji may be returned unopposed for a second term, giving him a powerful platform to lobby branches countrywide. But the real battle will be fought in the ANC’s national executive committee and provincial structures between now and 2027.

The real 2027 fight won’t happen at the conference itself, but more than the next two years in the ANC’s NEC and provincial structures. 

“These bodies control branch audits, delegate numbers, nomination rules, and credentials — the technical levers that decide who gets to vote and who gets disqualified,” he said.

Rashilo said Limpopo and Malatji’s allies are moving early to dominate these processes and create momentum, while rivals (Mashatile in Gauteng/Mpumalanga, Mantashe in the Eastern Cape, and the fractured KZN blocs) are quietly rebuilding to block any imposed “unity slate”.

“Every provincial conference, branch meeting, and audit report from now until mid-2027 will be a mini-battle. Whoever controls the rules and the referees will win the war long before delegates reach the conference venue,” he said.

Through its provincial secretary, Vhamusanda Reuben Madazhe, the ANC Limpopo provincial executive committee [PEC] welcomed the decision of the ANC Youth League to host its 27th National Congress in Limpopo province.

 “The PEC extends its best wishes to the ANCYL as it begins its preparatory processes. The congress is not only a moment of renewal for the league, but also a vital opportunity to reaffirm the role of youth in shaping the future of the ANC and the country.

“The ANC in Limpopo calls upon all its structures and deployees to offer the necessary support to the youth league to ensure the success of the congress,” said Madazhe.

NOW READ: Ramathuba’s campaign strengthened after ally wins ANC regional election in Limpopo