'There were no sell-outs — branches spoke': Mkhize lobbyists to get behind new ANC leaders

After their bruising loss, the Zweli Mkhize campaign is not pointing fingers at leaders who appeared on their slate but won top positions with his rival, President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Ramaphosa was re-elected ANC president at the party’s 55th national conference in Nasrec, Johannesburg, on Monday, securing 2,476 votes to 1,897 for Mkhize.

Paul Mashatile is deputy president and Nomvula Mokonyane first deputy secretary-general.

Mashatile, while rumoured to have been working with Mkhize to topple Ramaphosa, never publicly aligned with either of the two presidential contenders.

However, Mokonyane was on the campaign trail with Mkhize.

Mkhize campaign chief lobbyist Simphiwe Bulose said they did not feel betrayed and will rally behind the newly elected leaders.

“When you are going for a conference, you fight tooth and nail for those you prefer to win — but after the conference is done and democracy has prevailed, you support the elected leadership.”

Asked if they had been hoodwinked by Mashatile and Mokonyane, he said: “Not exactly, because they don't have enough votes to do that, they vote as individuals. There are individual delegates voting here so we cannot take the outcome and refer it to one individual as if someone has sold out, it's branches of the ANC and delegates who decide.”

Mkhize’s attempt at the presidency was launched by his home province, KwaZulu-Natal.

He gained support from small pockets of anti-Ramaphosa delegates from regions in other provinces, including Gauteng, the Eastern Cape and Limpopo, aligning himself with leaders from those provinces in the hope of gaining ground.

That did not yield results as he lost with his Eastern Cape ally Phumulo Masualle, who was running for secretary-general, and Limpopo’s Stan Mathabatha, who contested for national chairperson.

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Mkhize’s province, plagued by deep divisions, failed to unite behind him and went to the conference divided.

KZN provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo said they did all they could.

“There is nothing to do better, branches of the ANC have decided, we must accept that. The conference has spoken, all of us are subject to the new leadership. It's not a choice, it's a matter of being disciplined,” he said.

While the result was not what the province had hoped for, Mtolo said they knew there were two possibilities coming to conference. 

“Now we have a president, a top seven, we move forward and we are going forward united.”

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