ANALYSING THE LOCAL
GOVERNMENT
LEADERSHIP LANDSCAPE Is time running out for a slowly declining majority party? Professor Mcebisi Ndletyana analyses the results of the last local elections in light of the national general elections in 2024
T
hat the ANC’s recent electoral decline below 50 per cent tells of an impending loss in the 2024 national election has deservedly attracted extensive analysis. Equally noteworthy though are new activities the organisation initiated as part of its nomination process. A newly established Electoral Commission, chaired by former deputy president of the party and the third president of the republic, Kgalema Motlanthe, steered the nomination process. Candidates for the mayoral positions were interviewed by a panel that included individuals familiar with the technical intricacies of running local government. While showing a party that is possibly changing, these new initiatives are also instructive of what it takes for a party to initiate change. However, it is doubtful whether these initiatives are sustainable for a considerable period into the future. Motlanthe’s Electoral Commission represents a notable shift. Previously, the nomination process had not received dedicated and impartial attention. It was part of many functions undertaken within the secretary general office (SGO) and only received attention as and when elections approached. The SGO, in turn, relied on its provincial and regional counterparts to oversee processes at the local level. This operational format exposed nominations to bias and
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Professor Mcebisi Ndletyana
manipulation. Both provincial and regional leaders are not uninterested parties in the process, they tended to rig processes in favour of their candidates, some of whom were incumbents that had proven hopelessly incompetent during their tenure.
MANIPULATION AND RIGGING
Public participation was then introduced, just ahead of the 2011 local election, to neutralise internal party manipulation. Although the party was still allowed to run its selection process, the selected candidates were subjected to public examination in their respective wards. Since residents were most familiar
with the candidates, the idea was that they would choose the best candidate based either on previous performance or reputation and encounters in the community. Besides seeking to inject fairness into the selection process, involving residents was also a test of how each candidate resonated with the general electorate, who would ultimately decide who got elected. Not much changed, however. Rigging continued to happen. Candidates, or their faction, made sure that attendance at public participation sessions favoured them or their candidates. Meetings started at a different time to the one communicated earlier. Some residents would be locked out, or the screening committee would simply forward a different name to the one endorsed by residents. The extraordinary level of fraud even triggered widespread protests in the various wards throughout the country. This prompted the party to institute an investigation led by Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. The findings of the task team confirmed widespread rigging. Competent candidates endorsed by residents were disqualified based on disability. Some were nominated for wards in which they were not resident – a clear violation of guidelines. Others were disqualified purely based on rumours that they were ‘Cope-moles’ in the ANC.
AFRICAN LEADER ISSUE 56 | MARCH 2022
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