ANC prepares for elections

The ANC in the Eastern Cape yesterday rolled out its nomination programmes in preparation for next year’s local government election.

ANC provincial secretary Oscar Mabuyane announced that auditors from Luthuli House were spread out through all regions to establish whether branch members were in good standing to be able to take part in the nomination of candidates on Thursday.

Branch members in “good standing” nominate preferred candidates to contest as ward councillors and those who appear on the ANC proportional representatives (PR) lists in local, district as well as the metros.

Branch general meetings (BGMs) will be expected to come up with at least four names, in order of preference, to be submitted to a branch screening committee before being submitted to the regional list committee for consideration.

Mabuyane heads the party’s provincial screening team for all nominated candidates.

The screening committee is made up of experienced ANC members, who have been in good standing for at least 10 years, as well as representatives from the ANC’s leagues and alliance partners including Cosatu, the South African Communist Party and the South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco).

“The auditors have until November 11 to establish who qualifies to take part in the BGMs,” Mabuyane said.

“That is according to a member’s status by the September 30 deadline.

“We want all members in good standing to take a very active role in this process so that who ever makes the cut to be a ward candidate or a PR candidate for the ANC is nominated in a free and fair process within the rules and regulations of the ANC and its constitution,” said Mabuyane.

The BGM’s are scheduled to start in earnest on Thursday and run to November 30.

Thereafter the branch reports will be reconciled, screened by the relevant teams from branch level up to provincial before being submitted to form part of the ANC’s candidates’ list for the 2016 local elections.

Mabuyane said the party issued clear guidelines of qualities to be taken into consideration when making the nominations at branch level.

These include gender balance, demographics, geographical spread in each municipality as well as the 60% retention quota for experienced councillors with required skills.

This comes while the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB), in conjunction with the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) rule on which municipalities will be merged.

In the Eastern Cape nine municipalities in three districts will be affected wholly, while others such as Buffalo City Metro will be affected partly.

Mabuyane said ANC branch secretaries and chairs of all affected municipalities were meeting in various subregions yesterday, to discuss how their wards would be affected by the mergers.