Sisisi Tolashe beats out Bathabile Dlamini in landslide ANCWL victory

The ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) elected new leadership at its 13th national conference on Sunday, with Sisisi Tolashe winning the presidency in a landslide victory.

ANCWL conference

Tolashe was elected by the 2 962 delegates who voted at the conference, which was held at Nasrec, south of Johannesburg, at the weekend.

Tolashe, the deputy minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities, received 1 756 votes, while her closest challenger, Thembeka Mchunu of KwaZulu-Natal, received 1 038 votes.

Former ANCWL president Bathabile Dlamini, who was seeking re-election, came in third with just 170 votes.

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The results were announced on Sunday evening ahead of President Cyril Ramaphosa closing the conference.

The other elected leaders of the ANCWL are:

• Deputy president: Lungi Gcabashe
• Secretary-general: Nokuthula Nqaba
• Treasurer-general: MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae
• Deputy secretary-general: Dina Pule
  

Tolashe popular

The league’s delegates made their choices known through songs and chanting of names of their favourite candidates.

The “change” hand sign echoed through the plenary followed by pro-Tolashe chanting.

According to the Sunday Times, there was a push for Dlamini to abandon her presidential campaign and run for chairperson.

Talks between the slates led by Dlamini and Mchunu to find a common ground continued into the night on Saturday.

Tolashe is the Deputy Minister of Women and Youth in the Presidency and is said to enjoy support from the majority of provinces.

The former league president Angie Motshekga backed Tolashe’s campaign against Dlamini.

KZN divided

Meanwhile, ANC’s biggest province KwaZulu-Natal went into the conference torn between Tolashe and Mchunu, the wife of Water Affairs Minister Senzo Mchunu.

Delegates from the province’s major ANCWL regions of eThekwini and Moses Mabhiba were divided between Mchunu and Tolashe, while some regions rallied behind Dlamini.

The former social development minister, who previously had KZN as her stronghold, is regarded as a staunch supporter of former president Jacob Zuma.

Additional reporting by Getrude Makhafola

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