Candidate selection a headache for ANC
Selecting candidates ahead of the 2019 national election is not going to be an easy task for the ANC, which is battling to come together six months after its Nasrec conference and with a year to go until it heads to the polls.
Selecting candidates ahead of the crucial 2019 national election is not going to be an easy task for the ANC, which is battling to come together six months after its Nasrec conference and with a year to go until it heads to the polls.
It took the party almost a month to select a candidate to replace former North West premier Supra Mahumapelo, and even then it was not through consensus.
This reflects the continued battle for dominance in the ANC between the factions in the mixed leadership elected at the Nasrec conference in 2017.
There is no dominant faction or side calling the shots and this is leading to delays in the party’s decision-making process.
The party is also battling to get its provincial structures in order as infighting prevails and groups of disgruntled members turn to the courts for a solution.
Political analyst Somadoda Fikeni says as long as the slate system in the ANC ensures that in a contest there is a winnertakes-all mentality, this will not end and will make it more difficult for the party to put its lists together ahead of the polls.
However, there is a way to fix this — by telling those who have lost in the party provincial structures that they are being considered for a spot on the MP and provincial legislature list.
“Such peace and unity negotiations ought to send a signal … that things such as gatekeeping will be dealt with honestly and won’t be tolerated even if leaders are trying to do this. Then they will know that even the winning faction will not be a winner takes all,” Fikeni said.
The ANC is trying desperately to portray a united front, but the contests in the party structures have become so intense and more difficult to resolve because of a divided national executive committee.
Ahead of an election, registered political parties contesting the polls must submit lists of their candidates to the Electoral Commission of SA.
The ANC will have to hold a national list conference where the party makes a decision on who will represent it in national and provincial government.