Members of the African National Congress's (ANC) national working committee (NWC) have expressed dissatisfaction with the explanation provided by the party's top seven national officials regarding the omission of several mayoral contenders from the candidate list for the local government elections. The list, submitted to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), was missing names such as Frank Chikane, Ntombi Mekgwe, and Soviet Lekganyane. According to the NWC members, the exclusions appear to be a deliberate attempt to sabotage the party's reform agenda.
The ANC's national working committee is demanding an independent forensic investigation into the entire list debacle, including the party's failure to submit councillor candidates in at least six municipalities. The investigation is expected to probe the conduct of officials tasked with interviewing mayoral candidates and ensuring they were added to the IEC list, led by President Cyril Ramaphosa and ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula. The NWC members argue that the terms of reference for the forensic investigation must be extended to include the list exclusions.
The Sunday Times previously reported that at least 51 candidates interviewed as part of an intervention to claw back support were not added to the final list of candidates submitted to the IEC due to an internal ANC administrative mistake. The excluded candidates include heavyweights such as party veteran Frank Chikane, one of the ANC's mayoral candidates for Johannesburg. The NWC members believe that the exclusions were not coincidental, but rather a deliberate attempt to undermine the reform agenda.
The ANC's national working committee members who spoke to The Sunday Times said that party officials had been confronted over the issue, but no clear answers had been given. They argue that the list exclusions were possibly done deliberately and that the terms of reference for the forensic investigation had to be extended to include probing this issue. The members also pointed out that the party's national executive committee (NEC) and NWC were equally to blame for the omissions, as they were the party structures tasked with adopting and ratifying the entire list of candidates.
According to the NWC members, the forensic investigation should not be limited to specific provinces, but rather should investigate the entire process to determine why and how the officials made the mistake. They argue that if the investigation only focuses on specific areas, such as the Eastern Cape, other issues will remain unanswered. The NWC members also pointed out that no one has taken responsibility for the omissions, and that allegations have been made about instructions being given to remove certain candidates from the list.
One NWC member said that it was generally accepted that national officials blundered in failing to ensure that the likes of Chikane were added to the list, as this was a task given solely to them. However, the member also defended the officials, saying that they could not have made the mistake deliberately, to the detriment of the party. The member argued that the NWC and NEC were equally to blame, as they were the party structures tasked with adopting and ratifying the entire list of candidates.
The ANC's national working committee members have rejected the explanation that an honest mistake had led to the candidates' names being left off the list. They argue that every person claims ignorance of how it happened, and that no one is taking responsibility for the omissions. The members have called for an independent forensic investigation to determine the truth behind the list exclusions and to identify those responsible.
Key points
- ANC national working committee members reject explanation for leaving mayoral contenders off local government election list
- Independent forensic investigation demanded to probe conduct of officials and list exclusions
- Party's national executive committee and national working committee equally to blame for omissions
