Nomination delays continue in Limpopo.
Supporters of Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe started the Limpopo ANC nomination conference in Polokwane on Thursday morning, after supporters of President Jacob Zuma walked out just after 6am claiming bogus delegates had been deployed to vote.
The conference was delayed on Wednesday because of a meeting between national executive committee members and provincial executive members over lingering disputes.
Zuma supporters claimed the conference did not verify the credibility of delegates.
Some delegates, who did not want to be named, complained that when they went to register, they discovered that unknown delegates had signed under their names and collected accreditation.
To add to the conference's disruption, two men were arrested on Wednesday night when a group of people tried to force their way into the conference centre. They were believed to be supporters of Zuma.
"The group, who were non-delegates to the conference, tried to force their way into the conference centre and had no accreditation," spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said.
"Police tried to speak to them … they became unruly and started pelting the police with stones."
Situation calmed
"The situation is now calm. We are still having deployments in identified areas – even at the conference centre itself," Mulaudzi said, adding that police would keep watch until the conference finished.
The conference was postponed last Friday after delegates disrupted the conference, also accusing provincial leadership of using bogus delegates.
The ANC in Limpopo and the Western Cape were re-running their nomination conferences on Wednesday.
Cancellations
Limpopo cancelled their conference on Friday night when a group wearing T-shirts with President Jacob Zuma's face printed on them disrupted proceedings, forcing delegates to flee the venue, spokesman Makonde Mathivha said at the time.
The ANC's NEC decided on Monday to allow the two provinces more time to conclude their nomination conferences.
The official deadline was originally November 30.
The provincial nomination conference allows ANC members to nominate their preferred candidates for the party's leadership to be elected at the national conference in Mangaung later this month. – Sapa