“Unity” votes to be counted in favour of Dlamini-Zuma: report
The members of the ANC’s Mpumalanga branch which voted in favour of unity have been directed by the ANC provincial leadership to support Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
According to a report by BusinessDay, the 223 nominations for a position of unity should now be read as backing for Dlamini-Zuma’s campaign for the party presidency – eating into the substantial lead accrued by her main opposition, Cyril Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa’s tally of branch nominations stood at 1,860 to Dlamini-Zuma’s 1,358. If the 223 nominations for “unity” were added to her tally and she got all 223 nominations, hers would rise to 1,581.
It is not known whether this instruction came from chairman David Mabuza or from provincial leaders who are known to be Dlamini-Zuma backers.
December conference
Deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa won endorsement from most African National Congress branches to succeed president Jacob Zuma as ruling party leader, giving him an edge – but not a guarantee of victory – in this month’s election.
The branches will account for 90% of the 5,240 voting delegates at the ANC’s national elective conference that’s due to start Dec. 16, while the rest will come from the party’s leadership structures and youth, women and military veterans leagues.
The ANC’s new leader will be its presidential candidate in the 2019 elections, which will bring an end to Zuma’s second term.
While the branch nomination numbers are the best available indicator of who’s likely to win, they aren’t conclusive because some bigger branches can have more than one delegate and there’s no guarantee delegates will vote as instructed.
Read: Ramaphosa wins most endorsements in ANC leadership race
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