The ANC will hold its national executive lekgotla at the weekend, followed by its national list conference, spokesman Jackson Mthembu said on Wednesday.

The NEC would hold a meeting on Friday, followed by a two-day lekgotla on Saturday and Sunday, he said.

The national list conference would be held on Monday. The conference was supposed to be held last year, but was delayed because of the death of former president Nelson Mandela.

The lekgotla is expected to review the African National Congress's performance in its last four years in government.

At Monday's list conference, the party will decide on candidates for Parliament and provincial legislatures.

Mthembu on Wednesday said there were list guidelines which determined whether those nominated for Cabinet were eligible.

"You can't be on the list unless you are a member in good standing," he said.

"Our list guideline does not take away from our constitution."

If a party member had been found guilty of any crime they could not serve in the government.

The same went for those who were undisciplined and caused divisions within the party, Mthembu said.

Anyone named on the ANC list also had to have a track record in leadership somewhere in the organisation.

"There must be some level of expertise... That list must also adhere to the 50/50 principle," he said.

This referred to equal representation of men and woman.

Mthembu said the party also had to consider continuity.

"There are people we have sent to Parliament for years, so when you craft a new list you can't just have new names. There must be a notion of continuity."

The list also needed to be representative of the country's demographics, he said.

"We are leading South Africa as the ANC, we are leading a South African society and our lists should reflect that."

President Jacob Zuma is expected to be the party's candidate for president, this reportedly despite concern about the effect of the controversy over security upgrades to his private home at Nkandla, in KwaZulu-Natal.