KZN implements election list advice

Independent Newspapers

Johannesburg - The implementation of recommendations about the ANC's election lists during local government elections is going smoothly, the party in the province said on Thursday.

Spokesman Senzo Mkhize said the recommendations were contained in the Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma Commission report, which had been received by the African National Congress's provincial executive council.

The commission probed allegations of irregularities in the May 2011 local government elections candidate lists.

“The process includes the holding of regional general councils and branch general meetings only in areas that have been mentioned in the report,” Mkhize said.

“We have decided to consult extensively to ensure that the contents of the report are verified to avoid further counter-complaints and to make sure that all our structures and the general members in the affected areas are taken on board.”

He said the party wanted to emphasise that the leaders who adopted the recommendations were accountable to the ANC and not to “individuals or the so-called 'activists' outside our organisation”.

Before last year’s May 18 local government elections, the ANC announced a new process allowing communities to select their candidates. However, there were several protests around the country when popular candidates were removed from the ANC’s candidate lists.

In one case, residents in the Eastern Cape’s OR Tambo region wanted the Independent Electoral Commission to reject the lists, which they claimed had been tampered with.

Sapa