Hopes for unity are further complicated by divisions in the anti-Magashule branches over who they will support to contest the position of chairperson
The ANC in the Free State has elected new leadership following its provincial conference over the weekend.
Free State MEC for police, roads and transport Sam Mashinini has been appointed as chairperson, with William Bulwane as deputy chairperson.
Paseka Nompondo has been elected as secretary, while Mamiki Qabathe will take up the mantle of deputy secretary. The newly-appointed treasurer is Premier Sisi Ntombela.
A list of these names, along with other members, was posted on the Facebook page of the provincial political party.
Earlier this week, it was unclear if the provincial conference would go ahead after disgruntled members threatened to head to court once again.
PEC stripped of powers
They claimed they had only heard about the conference happening at very short notice, via social media channels.
A replacement needed to be established for former long-serving chairperson Ace Magashule, who ascended to the national secretary general’s office in December, following the party’s elective conference.
His provincial executive committee (PEC) was stripped of its powers just before then, with the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein nullifying a provincial conference in which Magashule was re-elected as chair.
The province’s ANC branch has been mired in numerous court challenges over both provincial and national conference proceedings.
“While we respect the law as the supreme arbiter, we encourage members of the ANC to use internal democratic processes to deal [with] their dissatisfaction…There is a growing tendency to use [courts] to force the organisation to accept minority views,” the provincial task team convenor, Paseka Nompondo, was quoted as saying at the conference. ― News24