Mkhize could still unseat Cyril next month: his backers
Ramaphosa has more than twice his rival’s nods
The Zweli Mkhize campaign has not given up on its ambition of seeing the ex-health minister emerge ANC president at Nasrec in December.
This is despite the ANC yesterday announcing branch nomination results, which showed incumbent president, Cyril Ramaphosa enjoying over double the number received by his rival. Ramaphosa was nominated by 2,037 branches while Mkhize was nominated by 916.
Mkhize’s campaign insiders say they had expected Ramaphosa to toll about 60% of the branch nominations and Mkhize to get around 35% with the balance going to Lindiwe Sisulu and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma campaigns.
Mkhize got 26%, which is 9% less than what was hoped for.
“The 17% that would have voted for candidates other than Mkhize or Ramaphosa is 12% higher than we had expected. Cyril got 57% and that is with all the benefits of incumbency. We believe that he has hit the ceiling. It cannot get better. In fact, it could get much less,” one of Mkhize’s campaign insiders said.
The insider suggested to Sowetan that some branches would have accepted financial help from Ramaphosa-aligned funders and would therefore have pretended to support the ANC president to continue enjoying the benefit.
Others might have gone along with the dominant ANC faction to avoid its general meetings not being invalidated or those whose leaders are in the employ of the state, not being made to suffer reprisals because of their voting choices.
He added that with branch nominations out of the way, those branches were now free to vote openly.
“With Ngcobo next week, things could still change a lot,” he said in reference to the panel led by former chief justice Sandile Ngcobo probing whether Ramaphosa has a case to answer in relation to the Phala Phala saga.
Mkhize’s chief lobbyist Siphiwe Bulose added: “The biggest takeout from this nomination process is that the majority of Gauteng branches, the nation’s economic hub, have expressed a view that the incumbent should not be reelected for a second term and only a paltry 57% of branches, nationally, have expressed a view that he should.
“If this is not a vindication of our stance that the majority of ANC branches are crying out for a change of leadership, I don’t know what it is...”
Speaker Nosiviwe MapisaNqakula is expected to receive the report on November 30, with a debate in the house to happen on December 6.
According to the insiders, Mkhize was due for a heart-toheart talk with deputy president candidate Paul Mashatile, who seems to have abandoned the former KZN premier’s bloc and joined hands with Ramaphosa.
Mashatile scored 1,791 nomiwho nations. Mkhize’s team say Mashatile benefited from his association with Mkhize and that could change if he chose to associate himself with the Ramaphosa campaign.
“Mashatile would have received more than 600 of the votes he got from KZN. If you add the 915 that came from the same source as the Mkhize votes, he might have a problem with others are on the same slate if he no longer has those numbers.”
According to figures released by the ANC, Mkhize unsurprisingly received the most nominations from his home province KZN, with 643 branches nominating him in contrast to only 60 branches nominating Ramaphosa in the province.
Ramaphosa’s support was spread out across the provinces, with Eastern Cape taking the lead when 430 branches nominated him and 400 branches also nominated him in Limpopo.
Final nomination numbers ● Ramaphosa 2,037 ● Mkhize 916 Deputy president position: ● Paul Mashatile with 1,791 ● Ronald Lamola 427 ● Oscar Mabuyane 397 Chairperson: ● Stanley Mathabatha 1,492 ● Gwede Mantashe 979 ● David Masondo 501 Secretary-general: ● Mdumiseni Ntuli 1,225 ● Phumulo Masualle 889 ● Fikile Mbalula 749 Treasurer-general: ● Benjamin Chauke 552 ● Pule Mabe 428 ● Mzwandile Masina 348