President Cyril Ramaphosa has rejected allegations of vote-buying at African National Congress (ANC) elective conferences, saying the practice is unacceptable within the governing party.
The comments follow allegations by ANC National Executive Committee member Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma that Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula bought votes during the ANC’s 2022 National Conference, where he was elected to the position.
The allegations have renewed scrutiny of the ANC’s internal electoral processes and the integrity of leadership contests ahead of the party’s next national leadership contest.
Speaking in Thembisa, Ekurhuleni, on Wednesday during the ANC’s door-to-door campaign ahead of the 4 November Local Government Elections, Ramaphosa described vote-buying claims as rumours but said the practice must be rooted out.
“Those are rumours that we hear. Now obviously we are as the ANC completely against the buying of votes. Our delegates are supposed to go to conference and vote for the candidates that they believe will advance the interests of the ANC and the interests of our people,” Ramaphosa said.
He said vote-buying had no place in ANC structures and should be eliminated as part of the party’s renewal programme.
“So vote buying is something that is unacceptable within ANC structures and as we renew the African National Congress that is one of the areas that we say we must root out wherever it exists,” he said.
Ramaphosa also defended the ANC’s position as a political force despite the party’s declining electoral support in recent elections.
“It has deep support. It has got structures that work that are well rooted in our people. Those who wish that the ANC could die, they have what I would call a pipe dream,” he said.
The vote-buying allegations come at a sensitive time for the ANC, with the party facing the challenge of rebuilding its support ahead of the local government elections while preparing for its next leadership contest.
The ANC’s 2022 National Conference saw Ramaphosa re-elected as party president, while Mbalula was elected secretary-general.
