CONGRESS of the People leader in Parliament Mvume Dandala has resigned from the beleaguered party.

CONGRESS of the People leader in Parliament Mvume Dandala has resigned from the beleaguered party.

Dandala is said to have handed his resignation letter to Cope general secretary Charlotte Lobe - but she failed to present it at the party's working committee meeting on Monday.

Dandala's spokesperson Onkgopotse Tabane, confirmed yesterday that the resignation letter had been handed to the party.

"He has resigned but the matter has not been finalised. The resignation has not been discussed by the party," Tabane said.

Highly placed sources in the party said Lobe decided to bunk Monday's working committee meeting, where she was expected to present the letter.

Her actions are apparently aimed at stalling Cope president Mosiuoa Lekota's move to Parliament.

Cope insiders alleged that since Dandala announced he was leaving the party Lobe had been "entertaining ambitions of replacing him in Parliament".

"We are going to put her under pressure to produce that letter. She is sitting on the letter to block Lekota from going to Parliament," a source said.

Dandala, who was brought in shortly before the national elections last year to frustrate Cope president Mosiuoa Lekota ambitions to lead the party in Parliament, started showing signs of fatigue after the party's divisive conference in Centurion last month.

During the conference delegates who were divided between supporters of Lekota and his deputy Mbhazima Shilowa took a resolution to recall the leadership.

Lobe is aligned with the Shilowa faction that passed a vote of no confidence in Lekota during the conference.

But the court nullified the resolutions of the conference.

Lekota also asked the court to stop the Shilowa faction from tampering with the list of Cope representatives in Parliament.

During the conference Lobe was positioned to take over as deputy president of the party. Lobe was not available to comment.