By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The African National Congress (ANC) in Limpopo has re-elected Stan Mathabatha as its provincial chairperson, having received more votes than Dickson Masemola.
Mathabatha received 781 votes against Masemola’s 389. There were 1 173 votes cast, one spoilt ballot and a single abstention.
He told the ANC conference that Masemola and other comrades who were contesting, had not lost.
“I want to commit to this leadership of the NEC here that those comrades who were contesting have not lost, because it is not about position,” said Mathabatha.
He also said it was no longer easy to hold ANC conferences without problems, but the Limpopo conference has gone well without disruption.
“We have a conference that is so seamless because you have disciplined cadres in this province,” he said.
Mathabatha refused to commit to whether they would be challenging the step-aside rule, saying the province would look at the discussion documents and make resolutions based on that.
He also said the province would be more preoccupied with challenges facing residents, such as water and roads.
His deputy is Florence Radzilani, who was re-elected after garnering 791 votes against Livhuwani Ligaraba on 373 votes.
Reuben Madadzhe got the nod for secretary general with 714 votes, while Soviet Lekganyane received 451 votes.
Madadzhe was a late addition to the slate, following an ANC national executive committee decision to bar those affected by its contentious step-aside resolution to not contest for any positions in the party. This saw the influential Danny Msiza being left out of the process and being replaced by the former youth league leader.
Madadzhe fought tirelessly to prevent Msiza from being removed via the 2017 resolution.
Mathabatha was one of the first provincial chairs to have openly pronounced on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s second term at the ANC’s 8 January birthday celebrations, which resulted in a backlash from those who felt it was a premature move.
Gauteng and North West are the next provinces expected to hold their conferences in June.
The ANC is facing a tough battle ahead of the 2024 national and provincial elections after its support dropped in the local government elections last year.