ANC fires independent candidates

2011-04-06 17:50

Durban - ANC members who stand as independent candidates in the upcoming local elections have automatically expelled themselves from the party, it said on Wednesday.

"We believe that those who have chosen the route of being independent candidates have violated the code of conduct and have automatically expelled themselves," ANC provincial secretary Sihle Zikalala told the media in Durban.

It was recently reported that many disgruntled ANC members had decided to stand as independent candidates because they were not happy with the candidate selection process.

"We have noted all dissatisfactions about the selected candidates and these were minimal compared to the majority endorsed by communities and the alliance," said Zikalala.

He said the ANC and its alliance partners would not support independent candidates.

"We are not afraid of them. We know what happened to others who have done so."

Selection process transparent

The ANC selection process was transparent because it involved community members who were not members of the ANC, said Zikalala.

"As the ANC, we are proud to have applied the most democratic process despite some challenges which were mainly based on political opportunism and some possible manipulation which were attended to," he said.

Dissatisfaction about the selection process is not new in the ANC.

During the previous local government elections, many disgruntled ANC members stood as independent candidates.

In the eThekwini Municipality alone, more than 100 ANC members stood as independent candidates.

SA Communist Party KwaZulu-Natal secretary Themba Mthembu said the number of ANC members who intended standing as independent candidates this year was low compared to previous elections.

"The number is very low this time around. In the eThekwini Municipality, for example, we have less than 20 ANC members who have indicated that they will stand as independent candidates," he said.

The ANC would contest every ward in KwaZulu-Natal, said Zikalala.

"We want to retain all wards and also take more from other parties."

- SAPA