While social media campaigning was allowed, the use of money to lobby for ANC members to be included on the 2024 candidate list to Parliament and legislatures was prohibited.
This was the word from the ANC Electoral Committee’s Chief Livhuwani Matsila, when he outlined the criteria to select candidates to stand for elections next year.
“No slate of candidates may be organised or promoted through circulating a predetermined list of candidates for branches to rubber-stamp.
“This is strictly prohibited,” said Matsila during a briefing on Wednesday.
“Anybody found doing that will be taken to task and if candidates are doing that, they will be disqualified for contravening the rules of the organisation,” he said.
Matsila said candidates may be promoted on merit and meeting the criteria set out for selection, but money should not be used at all.
“We say candidates must not influence the process. They must allow branches to nominate and decide on their own if they want them on the list without any influence of money or material gain.”
He added that social media campaigns were allowed, but no negative campaigns were allowed.
“No paid or printed regalia is to be promoted for specific nominees,” Matsila said.
ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said for candidates to qualify for nomination they must satisfy a specific criteria.
According to Bhengu-Motsiri, the criteria stipulated that candidates must possess post-matric qualifications and the requisite capacity, experience, education or expertise to contribute positively to relevant legislatures and the executive.
“Before registering with the IEC all candidates will be required to have completed four online modules in the OR Tambo Leadership School.
“These candidates must be in good standing as ANC members at the time of nomination to the IEC,” she said.
Matsila said the main purpose of the rules and the selection process was to make sure that they nominated candidates with the capacity, skills and experience to go to Parliament and legislatures.
“It is essential and critical when selecting those candidates; we pass them through the eye of the needle, as the ANC, so that we scrutinise them and ensure they are fit for purpose.”
However, Matsila said while preference would be given to those with formal post-matric qualification, that would not exclude those comrades with experience and skills at the level of Parliament and legislature.
“If comrades don’t have formal qualification, we look at their track record and functionality, which will be able to make them part of the list forwarded for registration.
“There are also modules that are compulsory from the OR Leadership School that are online,” he said.
Bhengu-Motsiri said candidates should have a proven track record of commitment to and involvement in the democratic movement and government.
“Candidates must not have criminal record and of course not have faced charges brought by the NPA unless these are politically-related crimes committed before 1994 or found guilty of contravening the ANC code of conduct in the last 10 years.”
But, Matsila said the issue of private prosecution was excluded unless (if) it led to criminal conviction by a court of law.
“This is to safeguard the ANC and its members from abuse of the private prosecution and to try to exclude others on the basis of such processes.”
He indicated that candidates were ineligible to stand for nomination if they were suspended pending an outcome of a court case or disciplinary inquiry.
This applied to cases finalised by the Integrity Commission.
“You will find that the Integrity Commission has a recommendation presented to the NEC, but the recommendation is not accepted or implemented, it means we are not able to use that to disqualify candidates until they are implemented,” Matsila explained.
Matsila also said the provinces were required to recommend three candidates for the premier position.
“At least two of the premier candidates must be female,” he said.
Cape Times