Hajra Omarjee
14 January 2009
Johannesburg — IN AN attempt to appease African National Congress (ANC) dissidents and retain experience, early indications are that former president Thabo Mbeki's allies are being included in the party's list of preferred candidates to hold office after this year's general election.
The ANC's KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Northern Cape structures have completed the process of nominations ahead of the party's national list conference.
The ANC's own processes require that three lists be submitted to the Independent Electoral Commission. The deadline for submissions is two weeks after the election date is announced by the president.
While former and current youth leaders such as Fikile Mbalula and Buti Manamela are making a strong showing on the national list, the ANC's provincial structures are also endorsing leaders of the South African Communist Party, the Congress of South African Trade Unions and all cabinet ministers. There are 11 cabinet ministers who are also ANC national executive committee members.
As expected, ANC president Jacob Zuma is at the top the national list, followed by party deputy Kgalema Motlanthe. The provincial lists are being dominated by the ANC's chairpersons in the provinces. ANC provincial leaders in KwaZulu- Natal, Free State, Limpopo and Gauteng look poised to take over the premierships.
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sbu Ndebele and his counterpart in Limpopo, Sello Moloto, have been nominated by their provinces to go to Parliament after the election. Moloto's nomination may also be an indication that Mbeki's supporters are still popular in ANC branches.
Cabinet ministers including Naledi Pandor, Jeff Radebe and Nathi Mthethwa are well placed on the lists. Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, Public Enterprises Minister Brigitte Mabandla and Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma are not doing well in some provinces, though they are on the lists.
ANC insiders yesterday said it was a "deliberate strategy" to include Mbeki supporters on the list of candidates to maintain unity in the face of possible defections.
"The ANC must show that a particular camp is not being frozen out. If people want to leave the ANC, they must walk on their own," the source said.
Many ANC insiders fear that once the party's list process has been finalised, those who do not make the grade will jump ship, probably to the Congress of the People - a party founded by Mbeki's supporters shortly after he was axed by the ruling party.
The ANC's nomination process is far from complete. A process of objections and consolidation must be undertaken before a national list conference is convened.
Luthuli House has said that popularity alone will not guarantee the nominees a position.
Indications are that the 25 top names on the ANC's national list will not be changed. But for the rest of the candidates, questions of balance based on gender, race and demographics, as well as performance, will take priority.
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