Durban - Members of the ANC who defect to stand as independent candidates in the local government elections after failing to secure nominations should face the full might of the party.
ANC provincial chairman Sihle Zikalala made his views clear at the party’s provincial conference in Pietermaritzburg last weekend, saying delegates should deal decisively with defectors and make sure that they did not survive politically outside the party.
“We must denounce anyone who leaves our ranks to join opposition or to be independent,” said Zikalala.
“The alliance must act together and no member of any alliance partner must be found supporting independent candidates.”
The former provincial secretary was presenting his organisational report before his elevation at the conference to the position of chairman.
In the past the ANC has faced members leaving the party to stand as independent candidates for the local government elections.
Previously, ANC members would be at each other’s throats fighting to be nominated to be elected as councillors.
Zikalala told 1 470 delegates their branches must do everything possible to avoid divisions during nominations.
“At the centre of this is to manage the selection process of candidates which always produces opposition from within our own ranks.
“We must ensure that we conduct the list process in an open and inclusive manner that keeps even those who are unsuccessful satisfied by the process.”
Former provincial chairman Premier Senzo Mchunu said, before Zikalala defeated him, that the ANC should take advantage of the IFP’s declining support, which was a result of its “conservatism”.
However, he said the IFP should not be written off as it was winning back support from voters from the troubled National Freedom Party.
He said the ANC should also pay attention to the DA’s mission to “remodel itself into an all-encompassing mass-based party”.
“It is our foremost opponent because of its ability to weaken the hegemony we currently enjoy,” Mchunu said.
“Therefore, our strategy for the 2016 local government elections must take into account the threat posed by the DA.”
He said the EFF was also a danger to the ruling party as it was representing a “new dynamic in our political landscape”.
The Mercury
* Use our Facebook and Twitter pages to comment on our stories. See links below.