South Africa
ANC conference to resume in January─── 06:25 Wed, 21 Dec 2022
The ANC's national conference has been adjourned to 5 January 2023 as voting for the incoming national executive committee (NEC) has not been completed.
The Citizen reports that the newly-elected ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said the national steering committee met on Tuesday to receive a report on how the conference was proceeding.
He said the report recommended that the conference be adjourned due to numerous delays in the conference programme.
The congress is expected to resume on 5 January under a hybrid form to complete its business.
The delays were related to the registration of delegates at the start of the conference on Friday, the finalisation of the credentials report and the voting procedure.
"Furthermore, a number of delegates, especially from distant provinces, had started returning home.
"Due to these factors, it was not possible to formally adopt the commissions’ reports and resolutions based on the deliberations of the commissions in plenary," said Mbalula.
Mbalula further said the national steering committee’s report highlighted that certain conference matters, such as amendments to the ANC’s constitution, required a two-thirds majority of all delegates to be present and voting.
"It was clear to the steering committee that the national conference would have neither the time nor the required majority to adopt constitutional amendments," he said.
Hybrid platform
Mbalula explained what would happen when the conference reconvenes:
"The national conference will continue on a hybrid platform in which delegates will converge at central venues in each province that will be connected to each other virtually.
"The rules adopted by the national conference will continue to apply to the continued session with the necessary modifications as required by the different circumstances."
The proposal from the steering committee was accepted by conference delegates, with President Cyril Ramaphosa closing off the conference at the Johannesburg Expo Centre.
ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa says the conference has reaffirmed the party's desire to unite and renew itself and that the ANC has come out united despite the different views and principles within the organisation.
