The ANC says it will sideline its members facing criminality or wrongdoing from its selection process when it finalises its candidate lists for municipal elections before the end of the month.
This is according to former president and ANC head of electoral committee Kgalema Motlanthe, who said the ambitious commitment was aimed at trying to bring integrity to the leadership of local government.
Outlining the updated candidate election rules for ANC councillors for the upcoming local government elections, Motlanthe on Thursday said none of those tainted with criminal allegations would make the cut in the selection process he was heading.
“Anyone who faces criminal charges or any other allegations of wrongdoings would fail the test in the interviewing and vetting panel processes. The whole rationale behind these rules is to ensure that we end up with candidates who will be without any reproach and candidates who would add value and bring either experience or expertise to the local sphere of government,” he said.
Motlanthe is leading an eight-member panel mandated to come up with and oversee the implementation of rules that will guide the selection of its public representatives in ANC-controlled municipalities.
Over the years, the selection of ANC candidates for local government has been marred by disputes, violent community protests and political killings as the openness and integrity of its internal processes were questioned, with the party accused of imposing unwanted councillors on communities.
Motlanthe said the ANC rules would now allow the party to nominate candidates for ward councillor positions after which those names would be presented to their respective communities for final selection.
“The nominees will be given an opportunity to present their credentials to the community,” he said.
Motlanthe, however, admitted that the rushed process was already marred by appeals and objections which his committee had to deal with.
In an unprecedented move, Motlanthe said the ANC would open up its selection process even to those who were not card-carrying members of the ANC if those chosen as candidates by its branches were rejected by communities, provided they were willing to join the party.
“If the communities feel that the four nominees that come from the branch are not equal to the task and do not enjoy the confidence of the community, the community is free to nominate whomever. If that person who commands respect and confidence of the community happens not to be a member of the ANC, they are then given the latitude to take up membership of the ANC,” he said.
Motlanthe said the party was working within tight timelines as it wanted to ensure that its list of public representatives was ready for the proclaimed October 27 municipal election date in case the current push by the Electoral Commission to postpone it to February next year is not approved by the Constitutional Court.
According to the party, 3,200 of its branches have already completed their branch meetings, with about 800 still expected to convene before the deadline on Monday.
Motlanthe said all provincial structures were expected to finalise their lists by Saturday next week, ahead of the party’s extended national executive meeting scheduled for August 21.
“We have got to register all of our candidates by the 23rd of August,” he said.
ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte said all those punted for mayoral candidacy would be subjected to competency interviews before being approved.
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