ANC leaders accused of vote rigging
There have also been widespread allegations that the voting process was rigged, not only in the LSC region but throughout the province.
Tempers allegedly flared at a recent ANC Lower South Coast region ward 5 Gamalakhe Branch General Meeting (BGM) when BGM packs containing signed attendance registers were reportedly found in the hands of some members instead of with the regional task team coordinator, Thami Ngubane.
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Now the branch has accused Mr Ngubane – who was deployed by the Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) after it had stripped the region of its powers – of being in cahoots with those who are believed to be supporters of presidential hopeful Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (NDZ17)
And questions are being asked about the credibility of the results of other BGMs after fake signatures, including that of regional secretary Mzwandile Mkhwanazi, had apparently been found on various attendance registers. Mr Mkhwanazi was not at the meeting at the time.
There have also been widespread allegations that the voting process was rigged, not only in the LSC region but throughout the province.
As a result of these claims, the ANC’s national leadership had sent a task team to probe all processes used to nominate candidates for presidency.
Recently, statistics released by the PEC showed that those branches which had successfully convened BGMs were rallying behind Dlamini-Zuma.
In the LSC region, of 35 branches which had already sat, 19 had nominated NDZ17, with 16 nominating Cyril Ramaphosa (CR17) to take the reins at the ANC’s 54th national conference in December.
Ward 5 members said they had gathered enough evidence to appeal the BGM results and lay charges against the elected leadership who were found in possession of the fake signatures.
“These thugs would do anything to ensure that members with valid membership were removed from the roll and that those who supported them appeared on the roll,” said one irate ward 5 member.
Meanwhile, NDZ supporters believe these members were failing to deal with the fact that they had fewer numbers with which to elect their preferred candidates.
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Regional coordinator Thami Ngubane denied claims that he had teamed up with NDZ supporters, adding he had no idea how the BGM pack had disappeared.
“I don’t know what happened to the pack, one minute it was here, the next it was missing.”
He said the matter was being investigated by the party.
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