/ 18 December 2017

Jackson Mthembu confident of a Ramaphosa win

ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu.
ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu.

ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu says he believes deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa has enough branch delegates behind him to secure a large majority against Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and be elected as the next president of the ANC.

Vote counting has commenced at the Nasrec expo centre, in the south of Johannesburg, where delegates completed the voting process earlier today.

“We have looked at the numbers. CR17 campaign has not talked about numbers, but we know that we have more than 2 389 to win this conference if you include our PECs that are in Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Gauteng and Northern Cape,” Mthembu said.

“On delegates alone we are over 2 389. On delegates alone. Therefore we are quite confident that we are winning this conference”.

He said he believed the ills the ANC faced such as the arrogance of leaders, patronage and state capture could be dealt with by electing a competent leadership.

“We have never doubted our support because we have always known that within the ANC there are many people who are part of how the country feels. There are many that say we need to bring the ANC back to what it used to be. We need to bring the ANC back to its values,” he said.

Ramaphosa was nominated by a total of 1 469 branches, against Dlamini Zuma’s 1 094. The winning candidate will need to pass the threshold of 2 389 in order to be elected.

While Mthembu has expressed confidence in Ramaphosa’s chances, Dlamini-Zuma’s camp has appeared equally as confident about her fortunes. The announcement of the results, expected later this afternoon, will however determine which side is justified in its confidence.