Johannesburg - Former KwaZulu-Natal Premier Senzo Mchunu has not instructed any lawyer to file court papers in relation to any dispute at the ANC's 54th National Elective Conference, his representative said on Wednesday.
This comes in the wake of reports that court papers were being finalised to challenge the issue of the 68 unaccounted votes, currently at the heart of a dispute at the conference.
On Tuesday, the ANC's steering committee convened an urgent meeting over the "missing" votes.
According to News24, 4776 voting delegates attended the conference but only 4708 voted, with a senior delegate saying that the EleXion Agency needed to explain what happened to the remaining votes.
Mchunu’s supporters then called for a recount of the votes, claiming that irregularities in the counting process cheated the former KZN premier of the position of secretary-general of the party.
These delegates claim that 68 “special votes” were not counted and that these could have swung the poll in favour of Mchunu, who lost the contest to Free State Premier Ace Magashule.
Spokesperson for the Cyril Ramaphosa's campaign in KZN Sthembiso Mshengu denied in an interview with ANN7 that Mchunu was taking the issue to court.
"Mchunu has not instructed any lawyer to go and file papers in any court in SA in relation to the conference.
"If there are any other comrades that feel aggrieved, they can take the matter up. But Mchunu has not instructed anyone to go to court."
Mshengu went on to rubbish claims that the former premier was a sore loser, adding that Mchunu remained his usual self and was participating in the conference along with other delegates.
Conflicting reports meanwhile, emerged on the status of the missing votes, with reports claiming the matter had been resolved and that Magashule remained Secretary General.
This was yet to be officially confirmed.
Magashule beat Mchunu for the position of SG with 2360 votes, while Senzo Mchunu got 2336 votes.
This was a difference of 24 votes.
IOL