Thabo Mohlala
Credentials for the 54th ANC conference at Nasrec have finally been adopted marking the real start of the convention.
Briefing the media a few hours ago, Jessie Duarte, ANC Deputy Secretary-General, said they had to ensure they managed the situation carefully following the disqualification of some branches and Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) members by three court orders.
Yesterday some delegates expressed their disquiet when they discovered their names did not appear on the accreditation list while others claimed they had been replaced by bogus members.
Fourteen branches from Free State and 35 in the North West will not be voting while PECs from KwaZulu-Natal and Free State have been demoted to observers’ status.
“This created a difficulty as we had to explain to members why they would not be voting and it contributed to the delay. It is not unusual to delay, we do it to protect the integrity of the conference,” said Duarte.
She said credentials involved checking very thoroughly every detail to ensure that every delegate passed the verification process.
Duarte said the disqualification has whittled down the number of delegates to 4 700 instead of the anticipated 5 000.
According to media reports, these are the numbers of votes per provinces:
Western Cape – 136
Gauteng – 491
Mpumalanga – 708
North West – 446
Eastern Cape – 632
KwaZulu-Natal – 804
Limpopo – 567
Free State – 349
Northern Cape – 193
ANC Constitutional structures also have voting rights: Youth and Women’s Leagues each contribute 60, Veterans League 55 and NEC members account for 86.
