African National Congress secretary general Gwede Mantashe says the time for self-correction is the party’s elective conference‚ at which new leadership will be elected.

Speaking on Eusebius McKaiser’s show on 702 on Tuesday‚ Mantashe said if the ANC fails to do this‚ they will lose voters.

“Self-correction is a function of what the ANC does and as I said‚ the December conference is a very important milestone for self-correcting. If the ANC fails to self-correct in that conference‚ it is likely to decline further‚ so the first timeline for self-correction is the December conference‚” said Mantashe.

President Jacob Zuma’s second term as the leader of the ANC is coming to an end in just under two months‚ and a new leader of the party is expected to take the reins at the conference‚ due to take place at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Soweto from December 16-20.

Asked if he agreed that Zuma should be fired as president of the country after the conference‚ Mantashe said that proper protocol must be followed‚ if such a decision is taken by the executive of the newly elected leadership.

“What we should do is to manage our affairs properly. If ultimately the president is asked step aside‚ it must happen in a systematic [and] organised way – but the ANC must be in a state of stability‚ even when that happens‚” said Mantashe.

Zuma’s term as head of state will only lapse in 2019.

In what appears to be the most heated leadership race the governing party has ever had‚ one including at least four presidential hopefuls – namely deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa‚ Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma‚ Lindiwe Sisulu and ANC treasurer-general Zweli Mkhize – it’s unclear at this stage‚ with less than two months until the conference‚ if there’s an outright front-runner.

Various branches of the ANC have already started their Branch General Meetings (BGMs)‚ at which they intend nominating branch delegates who will attend the 54th national conference of the party.

Conference delegates will nominate and elect candidates to national executive committee positions‚ and they will also discuss policy proposals that could inform government policy