ANC says candidate omissions in 4 provinces more a mishap than manipulation

JOHANNESBURG - The African National Congress (ANC) has described the omission of some names from its candidate list as a glitch, and not manipulation.

The party said only four provinces were affected: Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the North West, and Limpopo.

Last week, the Mail and Guardian newspaper reported ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula was in hot water, with members accusing him of altering the final approved lists.

However, Mbalula said since the establishment of the ANC electoral committee chaired by Kgalema Motlanthe, his office only had the ceremonial role of pressing the upload button regarding lists.

“The NWC [national working committee] has resolved to establish… an investigation in terms of what happened in terms of those provinces. So that is what happened; it’s not a secret. That’s the report that came with Kgalema Motlanthe and all that. So that committee, which is led by Thembi [Majola], will then report to the NEC [national executive committee] after the election what must happen to those affected,” Mbalula said.