ANCYL won’t be kingmaker at this conference

For the first time in the history of the ANC, the ANC Youth League will not influence the outcomes of the ruling party’s leadership election – because they have no branches on the ground which are entitled to nominate candidates.

ANC electoral committee chair Kgalema Motlanthe has ordered that the National Youth Task Team would only have one vote instead of 40 votes because it was not a constitutional structure.

This was confirmed by the committee’s secretary, chief Livhuwani Matsile.

The same fate has befallen the ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) and veteran’s league task teams.

The youth team, which only has an interim structure, the National Youth Task Team, only voted among themselves for the top six with no branches making any input because they have no branches.

Similarly, the ANCWL and the veterans named their slates without input from membership.

In terms of the ANC constitution, all the leagues are regarded as full provinces, each as a whole entitled to participate as voting delegates at the national conference.

The party’s constitution says in part: “The remainder of the voting delegates at the conference shall be allocated by the national executive committee from among members of the provincial executive committees and the three leagues.”

But the nominations must be conducted by branches and not the leadership.

Political analyst Levy Ndou said the National Youth Task Team had itself to blame for its relegation because it was given an opportunity and a mandate to organise a national conference and elect a national executive committee.

But they failed to do so.

“The youth league used to play a crucial role in determining the ANC leadership election but, unfortunately, they are not properly constituted now,” Ndou said.

Peter Mokaba and Malusi Gigaba sustained Mbeki’s presidency until the latter changed allegiance to former president Jacob Zuma.

Under Fikile Mbalula and later his successor Julius Malema, the league influenced Jacob Zuma’s election as party president in Polokwane, where he defeated Mbeki.

The youth league also later influenced the sidelining of Motlanthe after he challenged Zuma in Mangaung in 2012.