LIMPOPO ANC chairperson and premier Cassel Mathale is showing his opponent a clean pair of heels ahead of the provincial elective conference.
Mathale has been endorse by 171 branches for re-election as the head of the organisation, and his opponent, Deputy Minister of Arts and Culture Joe Phaahla, has secured 64 nominations.
Mathale's overwhelming support could further put Phaahla's coalition in disarray.
Key members of the SACP and Cosatu in the province, including disgruntled members of the ANC, who formed a faction campaigning for Mathale's defeat failed to agree on who should be on their list.
The squabbles resulted in former ANCYL leader in the province Lehlohonolo Masoga being dropped from the list.
Political analyst Elvis Masoga said Phaahla stood little chance against an immensely popular Mathale.
"Phaahla is relatively unknown, especially among young and new ANC members and supporters in the province.
"He left the province in the '90s to go and serve at national level. Mathale had always been visible in the ANC structures in the province," said Masoga.
"Phaahla could be enjoying subtle support from key national leaders of the ANC, and might have received approval from those leaders but numbers suggest that branches of the ANC in Limpopo want Mathale."
Masoga said an endorsement of Mathale was also a sign that his ally Julius Malema was still popular among ANC structures in the province.
"Mathale is an epitome of Malema's political power. Phaahla's campaigners, on the other hand, might have been campaigning on a ticket that President Jacob Zuma should be re-elected for a second term."
Mathale, however, lost to Phaahla in his home town Dan Village, outside Tzaneen, when the ANC branch resolved not to support him for the chairpersonship position of the province in the December conference.
Out of the 228 members who attended the meeting, Mathale's nomination was supported by only two people.
This happened in the presence of Mathale's parents, siblings and cousins.
According to a source in the branch's leadership, the meeting went smoothly but Mathale's parents, who had been present, left after the nominations.
Meanwhile, the Sekhukhune region has postponed its regional elective conference indefinitely.
Party regional secretary Lenin Kgaphola confirmed yesterday that the conference was postponed and would be held at a venue and date still to be decided.
"We had earlier decided that the conference would be held from December 4 to 6. We later learnt that most of our branches were not in good standing and the national team was still busy with branch audit," said Kgaphola.
He said the deadline for the audit is December 4 and that they could not risk finishing the audit the same day the conference was scheduled to start.
Former ANC provincial spokesperson Ishmael Kgetjepe is expected to contest current Sekhukhune chairperson and mayor, David Magabe.
Magabe is known to be supporting provincial chairperson and Mathale, while Kgetjepe has teamed up with a faction that supports Phaahla.
Mathale leads race in home province
LIMPOPO ANC chairperson and premier Cassel Mathale is showing his opponent a clean pair of heels ahead of the provincial elective conference.
Mathale has been endorse by 171 branches for re-election as the head of the organisation, and his opponent, Deputy Minister of Arts and Culture Joe Phaahla, has secured 64 nominations.
Mathale's overwhelming support could further put Phaahla's coalition in disarray.
Key members of the SACP and Cosatu in the province, including disgruntled members of the ANC, who formed a faction campaigning for Mathale's defeat failed to agree on who should be on their list.
The squabbles resulted in former ANCYL leader in the province Lehlohonolo Masoga being dropped from the list.
Political analyst Elvis Masoga said Phaahla stood little chance against an immensely popular Mathale.
"Phaahla is relatively unknown, especially among young and new ANC members and supporters in the province.
"He left the province in the '90s to go and serve at national level. Mathale had always been visible in the ANC structures in the province," said Masoga.
"Phaahla could be enjoying subtle support from key national leaders of the ANC, and might have received approval from those leaders but numbers suggest that branches of the ANC in Limpopo want Mathale."
Masoga said an endorsement of Mathale was also a sign that his ally Julius Malema was still popular among ANC structures in the province.
"Mathale is an epitome of Malema's political power. Phaahla's campaigners, on the other hand, might have been campaigning on a ticket that President Jacob Zuma should be re-elected for a second term."
Mathale, however, lost to Phaahla in his home town Dan Village, outside Tzaneen, when the ANC branch resolved not to support him for the chairpersonship position of the province in the December conference.
Out of the 228 members who attended the meeting, Mathale's nomination was supported by only two people.
This happened in the presence of Mathale's parents, siblings and cousins.
According to a source in the branch's leadership, the meeting went smoothly but Mathale's parents, who had been present, left after the nominations.
Meanwhile, the Sekhukhune region has postponed its regional elective conference indefinitely.
Party regional secretary Lenin Kgaphola confirmed yesterday that the conference was postponed and would be held at a venue and date still to be decided.
"We had earlier decided that the conference would be held from December 4 to 6. We later learnt that most of our branches were not in good standing and the national team was still busy with branch audit," said Kgaphola.
He said the deadline for the audit is December 4 and that they could not risk finishing the audit the same day the conference was scheduled to start.
Former ANC provincial spokesperson Ishmael Kgetjepe is expected to contest current Sekhukhune chairperson and mayor, David Magabe.
Magabe is known to be supporting provincial chairperson and Mathale, while Kgetjepe has teamed up with a faction that supports Phaahla.
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