Rain fails to dampen spirits

2007-12-18 14:05

Polokwane - An intermittent Limpopo drizzle failed to dampen the enthusiasm of voters queuing at the African National Congress's conference on Tuesday to decide the outcome of the battle between Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma.

Voting for the top six leadership positions in the party was supposed to start at 06:00, but was delayed three hours and began at around 09:00.

Party spokesperson Steyn Speed said this was because nominations had begun so late on Monday night and ballot papers for the 3 900 voting delegates still had to be printed.

About 40 election officials worked through the night to complete this process and to go through the voter's roll after the credentials of the voters had been adopted.

In addition, there were also delays due to computer problems, said Bertha Gxowa, electoral commission chairperson.

"We had computer problems, that's why we could not start on time," she said.

'We will work through the night'

In response to the oft-asked question of when voting would end and results would be known, Speed quipped: "I think when everyone has voted - when the queue ends and when there is no-one standing in the queue."

The votes would be counted manually amid fears of vote rigging.

Speed said that in spite of the delays since the faltering start on Sunday, the ANC did not expect to have to drop anything from the original four day programme, nor did the party expect to continue over the four days.

"We will work through the night," he said.

He still expected that the results of the NEC vote, which is now for 80 candidates, would be made know before the end of the conference.

Committees were meeting on Tuesday to discuss strategy and organisational renewal documents. They would also discuss issues raised in the secretary general's report.

In the report, Motlanthe spoke strongly about branches being used as "voting fodder" in an atmosphere of "factionalist activities".

Mbeki and Zuma were on Monday night the only nominees for the presidency.

Delegates danced and sang as they waited to cast their votes - and once again the Zuma supporters were the most vocal.

Apart from when security officials had to use explosives to gain entry to an unattended vehicle, the voting process was peaceful, albeit accompanied by relentless singing.

- SAPA