ANC OR Tambo branch hopes to vote
2012-08-25 19:00
Johannesburg - The OR Tambo ANC branch's second attempt at voting in new leaders was expected to begin on Saturday night at its regional conference in the Eastern Cape, a party official said.
The voting was expected to continue into Sunday at the second regional conference the branch has held, African National Congress provincial spokesperson Mlibo Qoboshiyane told Sapa.
Earlier this month, the original regional conference was adjourned before new leaders could be elected. Its shutdown came after allegations that membership figures were inflated, and that there were several "ghost" delegates.
On Saturday, Mlibo said that as registration drew to a close, all delegates, as well as candidates, would be verified and a voters' roll would be prepared.
The provincial executive committee - which has taken control over the OR Tambo region since the initial aborted conference - has appointed a committee to keep an eye on this weekend's proceedings.
At the first conference, the electoral commission discovered that votes were cast by 591 delegates, instead of the 587 adopted by the plenary. The PEC adjourned the conference afterwards.
Unnamed sources in the conference reportedly said earlier regional chair Thandekile Sabisa defeated his challenger William Ngozi by 296 votes to 295.
Sabisa was allegedly pushing for a change in the national leadership, while Ngozi was allegedly part of group lobbying for a second term for President Jacob Zuma.
The outcome of the region's election would be integral to Zuma's bid to retain the leadership of the party at its national congress in Mangaung in December.
The region is the largest in the Eastern Cape, and the second largest ANC region in the country, after eThekwini in KwaZulu-Natal - Zuma's home province.
- SAPA
