These are (almost) all the names of the ANC’s premier candidates

In a statement on Monday night the ANC released the names of seven of its premiers, keeping the country in suspense about who will lead North West.

Secretary-general Ace Magashule explained that the special national executive committee (NEC) meeting had only discussed the premier candidates.

“In arriving at its decision the NEC was guided by the following principles and approaches: Gender parity; unity and stability in ANC structures; youth and inter-generational mix; experience; and integrity.”

The NEC received three names per province, as recommended by the provincial executive committees.

The following premier candidates were then agreed on:

• Eastern Cape – Oscar Mabuyane

• Free State – Sisisi Ntombela

• Gauteng – David Makhura

• KwaZulu-Natal – Sihle Zikalala

• Limpopo – Stan Mathabathe

• Mpumalanga – Refilwe Mtsweni

• Northern Cape  – Zamani Saul

Pertaining to the North West the premier candidate will be announced in due course following internal engagements.

“The NEC further agreed that in provinces where Premiers are men, at least 60% of the provincial executive must be constituted by women. There was consensus that in instances where the premier is a female there shall be at least 50-50 representation in the provincial executive. Speakers in all provinces will be women irrespective of whether the premier is male or female. Youth representation must be integrated.”

The May 8 tightly-contested elections were the sixth consecutive victory for the liberation movement since 1994, but support for the ruling party reduced as the ANC received 57.5 percent.

The party has been dogged by deep divisions and numerous scandals in the recent past.

Media houses have been reporting on fissures between Magashule and President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Magashule, however, dismissed the rumours on Monday.

“There is no fallout between me and the president. We work as the leadership of the ANC, we are a collective and we move as such. So I don’t want to listen to rumours and stories that you don’t know where they come from. We are working very well with the president of the ANC,” said Magashule.

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