Former deputy president and ANC electoral committee head Kgalema Motlanthe says members hoping to contest the local government elections proclaimed for October 27  who face allegations of corruption and wrongdoing will not become the party's representatives. 

This was because they would not add value to the local sphere of government, he said on Thursday. 

Motlanthe was addressing the media with acting secretary-general Jessie Duarte. They said the party was operating as though elections would go ahead on the proclaimed date, though the party has joined the IEC's bid at the Constitutional Court to defer the elections to February 2022 as per recommendations. 

The current municipal term expires on August 1. The constitution stipulates that when the five-year term of a municipal council expires, an election must be held within 90 days of the date on which that council’s term expired. The IEC wants permission to be allowed to conduct elections beyond the 90-day time frame, so they can be free and fair. 

“We are preparing as though the elections will be held on October 27,” said Motlanthe.

Motlanthe, along with seven other members, was elected by the party's national executive committee to prescribe rules for the nomination of ANC candidates to serve as its representatives in both local and national government spheres.

He said his team had to “hit the ground running” to establish the rules. 

“The new rules as set out by the electoral committee place much emphasis on the role of communities in nominating ward councillors, such that the branch general meetings (BGMs) which are usually exclusive to ANC members only serve as a starting point for the candidate selection process.

“The end point of this process are community meetings and community votes by secret ballot which would result in the selection of the ward and PR candidates.”

Motlanthe said 3,200 branches, making up 80%, had completed their BGMs. Meanwhile, 800 remained outstanding, despite the August 4 deadline. These branches will now have until August 9 to complete their community processes in selection of candidates.

“These are very tight timelines and anyone who faces criminal charges or other allegations of wrongdoing would fail the test in the interviewing  and vetting panel processes, so the whole rationale behind these rules is to ensure that we end up with candidates who will be without any reproach and candidates who will add value, who'll bring experience and expertise to the local sphere of government,” he said.

The new rules stipulate that in every ward where the ANC has a presence, four candidates will be nominated and presented to the community. The final candidate will be the one with most votes among the nominees, after an open community vote by secret ballot.

“The person who receives the most votes will be the ANC ward candidate if he or she is a fit and proper person in accordance with the law and constitution of SA,” said Motlanthe.  

Motlanthe emphasised that unethical, corrupt and immoral conduct, including the buying of votes or the use of money to influence the outcomes of the candidate selection process, was strictly prohibited.

“The conduct and moral integrity of ANC candidates for the local government elections is under a serious spotlight and severe scrutiny by the electoral committee through its provincial list committees as well as regional interviewing and vetting panels in all the provinces and regions.

“Comrades who are found to have engaged in corrupt activities shall be summarily expelled from the ANC.”

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