THE ANC appears to have hit the panic button following former president Jacob Zuma’s establishment of the uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) political party, after its biggest region asked for an update on the new formation.
The governing party in the eThekwini region in KwaZulu-Natal asked its branches to be vigilant about the possibility of its members joining and campaigning for the MK party before next year’s national and provincial elections.
On December 26, eThekwini regional secretary Musa Nciki instructed branch executive committees (BECs) to convene special meetings to assess the impact of the MK party on the structures.
”Reports emanating from those special BEC meetings are to be submitted not later than January 3, 2024,” he said.
He said the aim of the exercise was not to harm or label anyone.
Nciki also urged ANC structures and voters to stop demonising those who had joined the new party or shown interest in it. Instead, they should inform them that the governing party needed all its members for the polls next year.
The ANC electoral committee has set itself a target of ensuring transparency, fairness, honesty and integrity during the 2024 candidate selection process, and the party’s national executive committee (NEC) has approved rules and guidelines which are binding upon structures and members.
The electoral committee, chaired by former president Kgalema Motlanthe, will produce a national list of 200 ANC candidates for Parliament, as well as a provincial to national ANC list of five to 50 candidates for Parliament per province.
In the nine provincial legislatures, the ANC lists have a minimum of 30 and a maximum of 80 candidates, calculated according to the population in each province.
Next month, the nomination of premier candidates will be done by the ANC’s national officials, with recommendations by the extended provincial executive committee.
”The ANC’s candidate selection process must deliver the capacity we need to govern effectively, to oversee government delivery, to make policies and pass laws, and to represent the motive forces and sectors in society in all legislatures,” Motlanthe said.
The ANC said the process of candidate selection would combine democratic branch nomination and political intervention to ensure that the ANC selected the best possible cohort of MPs and MPLs, those with the requisite capacity and experience.
MPs and MPLs are expected to have the capacity to participate in making policies and laws that aimed to achieve the ANC’s development and transformation goals, and meet the requirements of the South African Constitution and legislation.
The ANC has introduced criteria for the selection of its public representatives, including that the minimum requirement for serving as an MP or MPL is that candidates must preferably possess a post-matric qualification and/or have the capacity, experience, education or expertise that will enable them to make a constructive contribution in the relevant legislature or executive.
Candidates will also be required to have completed the four OR Tambo Leadership School online modules before being registered with the Electoral Commission of SA.
The must also have no criminal record or criminal charges brought by the National Prosecuting Authority. This excludes political-related crimes committed before April 1994.
Private prosecutions are excluded unless they result in criminal convictions by a court of law, and no candidate will be eligible for nomination if they have been found guilty by a disciplinary committee for contravening the ANC code of conduct, and had their membership suspended for any period in the past 10 years.
The rule also applies also where a member is awaiting the outcome of a disciplinary hearing or an appeal. No candidate will be eligible for nomination if they are temporarily suspended, pending the outcome of a court case or disciplinary hearing.
In addition, no candidate will be eligible for nomination if their case has been finalised by the party’s integrity commission, and the NEC has approved and implemented the commission’s recommendation for a suspension of membership or stepping aside from leadership or public office.
Earlier this month, Zuma announced the MK party. He said it had been registered with the Electoral Commission of South Africa with his knowledge and blessings and in response to various pleas expressed to him by some religious leaders, traditional leaders, former combatants and other leaders in society.
The ANC has threatened legal action against the new party for using the name uMkhonto we Sizwe.
loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za