ANC deputy president race: Move to oust Mashatile

The battle for the second-in-command position in the African National Congress (ANC) is heating up.

According to a Business Live report, opposition forces on the ground are allegedly uniting to oust the current front-runner for the post – Paul Mashatile.

Five ANC provincial leadership structures have since nominated Mashatile, and he’s been endorsed by the majority of party branches-making him a shoo-in to replace current deputy David Mabuza.

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But according to the latest report, branches in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng gathered this weekend to discuss the possibility of nominating another candidate from the conference floor.

Floor nominations can be a game changer

The ANC leadership conference is scheduled to take place between the 16-20 of December. Delegates at the conference can nominate new candidates for any position from the floor.

If the nomination gets more than 25% support – those names will be added to the ballot.

It’s understood now that Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who did not gain the support needed to contest the top post – may very well be nominated on KZN’s ticket for deputy – with corruption-tainted Zweli Mkhize competing with Cyril Ramaphosa for the top position.

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But it may not be enough to topple Mashatile, who gained 1791 nominations.

Two other names thrown into the ring for the second-in-charge position are Ronald Lamola and Water and Sanitation minister Senzo Mchunu.

So far, 1 400 branches have not nominated anyone for the deputy president post.

Ramaphosa currently has a massive lead of 1 121 votes over Mkhize who only scored 916 votes.

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