A candidate to succeed Thabo Mbeki as African National Congress (ANC) president has not yet been selected by the ruling party’s Women’s League.
The ANC Women’s League on Tuesday condemned media reports indicating that it had thrown its weight behind Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in the presidential race.
”It is our view that reports of this nature are divisive and are not in the interest of building and strengthening the ANC.
”We condemn in the strongest possible terms sensational acts of faceless individuals who are always portrayed as ‘reliable’ by the media,” the league said in a statement.
The league would ”speak for itself” on its preferred candidate in the race for the ruling party’s top job, once its provincial nominations had been consolidated.
The statement was a response to an article in Business Day, which said the league had selected Dlamini-Zuma as a preferred candidate as she was the ”safe choice” — removed from the ”bitter” succession battle between Mbeki and ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma.
The ruling party’s leadership will be decided at its 52nd national conference to be held in Polokwane, Limpopo, in December.
The Women’s League and the ANC Youth League have until November 26 to submit their nominations. Together with the party’s national executive committee, they hold 10% of the vote. — Sapa