Durban - The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) said on Monday it wanted to clarify the role played by party president Mangosuthu Buthelezi at the weekend's KwaZulu-Natal provincial elective conference.
Clarity was needed in the face of "a lot of misreporting about the roles, rights and responsibilities of the IFP president", said national spokesperson and MP, Mkhuleko Hlengwa, via a statement.
Hlengwa said Buthelezi was at the conference as a delegate, as allowed by the party's constitution.
"Constitutionally, Prince Buthelezi, as IFP President, is a member of the Provincial Council of the province he is resident in, being KZN. As a delegate he was well within his rights to participate in all the due processes of the conference which includes the nomination process. There [was] therefore nothing untoward with Prince Buthelezi [making a nomination], he was well within his rights to do so," said Hlengwa.
The conference saw Thami Ntuli win the provincial leadership position.
Hlengwa said it was "reckless" to "mischaracterise" Ntuli as being "anointed" by Buthelezi instead of elected, and that this view undermined the robust and legitimate election process that took place.
"The IFP is satisfied that the conference was a resoundingly successful democratic exercise, and the outcome is testament to the collective will of the party structures," he said.
It would have been irregular for Buthelezi’s constitutional right to take part in the conference to be usurped simply because he was party president, said Hlengwa.