The election has caused deep rifts within the 105-year-old ANC, weighed on the rand and nation\u2019s bonds and unnerved investors seeking political and policy clarity. The process of deciding who will get to attend and vote at the conference has been marred by court challenges, allegations of rigging and outbreaks of violence, casting doubt over whether the party will be able to stage a credible ballot.<\/p>\n
Gwede Mantashe, the ANC\u2019s secretary-general, said most nomination disputes have been resolved and the lawsuits that have been filed were ill-considered and will be forgotten once the elective conference is over.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a national conference that is going ahead,\u201d Mantashe told reporters in Johannesburg on Monday. \u201cWe are working very hard to make sure that conference is successful and stable.\u201d<\/p>\n
The final two of the nine provinces released their nomination tallies on Monday. Ramaphosa secured backing from 391 branches in Limpopo and Dlamini-Zuma 104, while in KwaZulu-Natal Dlamini-Zuma won endorsement from 433 branches and the deputy president 193.<\/p>\n
Ramaphosa\u2019s Nominations<\/strong><\/p>\n Ramaphosa also won the most nominations in the Western Cape, Northern Cape and Eastern Cape, while Dlamini-Zuma was backed by the Free State and North West, and by a small majority in Mpumalanga who stated their preferences.<\/p>\n Susan Booysen, a professor at the University of Witwatersrand\u2019s School of Governance, estimates that about 930 delegates will come from branches that didn\u2019t finalize their endorsements but may still be allowed to vote.<\/p>\n Those delegates, together with 223 in Mpumalanga province who have yet to name their candidate and the party\u2019s incumbent leadership and leagues could sway the final outcome, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ANC\u2019s rules are rather opaque about when the branches must have their final nominations in,\u201d she said by phone from Johannesburg. \u201cUp to 25% of the delegates votes are unknown and this could alter the race in a substantial way.\u201d<\/p>\n Zuma\u2019s Favorite<\/strong><\/p>\n Zuma, who has led the ANC for the past decade and been implicated in a succession of scandals since taking office, has been campaigning for his ex-wife Dlamini-Zuma, 68, to succeed him. She\u2019s echoed his call for \u201cradical economic transformation\u201d to place more of the country\u2019s wealth in the hands of the black majority.<\/p>\n Most investors would prefer that Ramaphosa, 65, a lawyer, former labor-union leader and one of the wealthiest black South Africans, get the top job. He\u2019s pledged to revive the ailing economy, reduce a 28 percent unemployment rate and combat corruption if elected.<\/p>\n While nominations at previous ANC elective conferences were more or less in line with the eventual outcome, that may not be the case this year, according to Anthony Butler, a politics professor at the University of the Western Cape.<\/p>\n \u201cThis time there is more money changing hands,\u201d he said. \u201cBut there are also branches keeping their real intentions hidden and many of them will be Ramaphosa backers.\u201d<\/p>\n
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