/ 30 May 2010

Lekota: ‘I remain the president of Cope’

Congress of the People (Cope) president Mosiua Lekota on Sunday affirmed his position in the party and dismissed a vote of no confidence.

“I remain firmly the president of Cope,” he told journalists at a briefing in Kempton Park.

The vote was taken at the party’s national congress in Irene, outside Pretoria, on Saturday.

This followed Lekota and his supporters planning an urgent interdict which stopped the gathering from holding an election.

Lekota was adamant the congress had no right to pass the vote. He said regulations and procedures to remove members of the Cope leadership structure, the congress national committee (CNC), did not exist in the party’s constitution.

“Such regulations have not been developed and adopted by our organisation,” he said.

Leadership battle
Lekota and his deputy Mbhazima Shilowa are embroiled in a divisive leadership battle.

Both former ANC heavyweights have pulled out all the stops to gain control of the fledgling party.

Lekota said the congress was not “competent” to take the decision to remove him from the presidency.

“I can state without fear of contradiction that the meeting is not competent to take such a decision.”

He charged that a significant number of delegates participating in the congress were not legitimate members.

“There were significant numbers of people … who were not competent to participate and take such decisions.”

Lekota said Cope had not split, despite the difficulties it faced.

“It is not possible to compromise principle … I mean that there are bounds … perimeters beyond which unity is not possible.”

Unfortunately, he added, the differences between the two factions did in fact go “down to differences of principle”.

He hoped to discuss the differences with the other side in a meeting of the CNC, which he would request soon.

Meanwhile, a statement issued by Sipho Ngwema, allied to Shilowa, sought to clear up the confusion about the status and powers of the congress underway in Irene.

Ngwema said: “All the resolutions, motions and other decisions of congress, save those related to internal elections, are the positions of Cope.” – Sapa