SOWETO, SOUTH AFRICA DECEMBER 18: (SOUTH AFRICA OUT): Delegates during the announcement of new party leadership at the 5th African National Congress (ANC) national conference at the Nasrec Expo Centre on December 18, 2017.
SOWETO, SOUTH AFRICA DECEMBER 18: (SOUTH AFRICA OUT): Delegates during the announcement of new party leadership at the 5th African National Congress (ANC) national conference at the Nasrec Expo Centre on December 18, 2017.
ANC Gauteng Deputy Chairperson David Makhura has lead the calls for a re-vote in the nomination for the Secretary General position.
In one of the closest election races in ANC history, the Sec Gen position went right down to the wire when Ace Magashule trumped Senzo Mchunu by a mere 24 votes. The result tipped the ANC top six into a chaotic balance (oxymoron intended) of three members from Ramaphosa’s slate, and three from Dlamini-Zuma’s.
How many votes did Ace Magashule get?
Magashule registered 2,360 votes, whereas Mchunu totalled 2,336. There is more to this than just a razor-thin vote margin, though. In fact, there could be as many as 68 delegates whose votes were not counted.
David Makhura wants to see another vote happen. He quotes two numbers, 63 or 68, as how many valid voters have had their vote ignored. This is due to an issue with registration and their ‘tags’ not working properly. Those 63 – 68 members had to register a vote separately, and had to be sent via a sealed envelope.
“Our monitors reported to us that the cards were being given. Either 63 or 68 delegates were validated, but did not appear on the voters role.”
“Of those comrades, the electoral commission decided that they most vote separately and their vote counted – the 63 or 68, our monitors are talking about two numbers.”
“By the time the vote was announced, it was not added. They are sealed up somewhere. These votes haven’t been added to the numbers that were delivered to us yesterday. We’re still getting two numbers. The electoral committee must resolve this. A committee is dealing with the matter now. It needs to be resolved.”
#ANC54 Gauteng Deputy Chairperson David Makhura speaks to the #CR17 faction on the SG votes. pic.twitter.com/UixGiKX5XZ
— Samkele maseko (@samkelemaseko) December 19, 2017
Will the Secretary General vote be held again?
Senzo Mchunu and his team started the celebrations prematurely when the result was announced. Thinking Ace Magashule had fell short of the 2,389 mark of a majority, they lofted Mchunu skywards. He was brought back down to earth when he realised he fell just a couple of dozen votes short.
If there is a re-vote, Mchunu – no stranger to contested votes – will perhaps remain grounded for a little while after.
