The ANC elective conference that saw Dada Morero lose his Johannesburg caucus leadership seat remains contested.
ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula recently requested a South African Police Service (Saps) investigation into the ANC’s Johannesburg regional election after receiving complaints about alleged voting irregularities.
Loyiso Masuku defeated Morero by 184 votes to 149 in a December conference that was marred by accusations of bribery.
Election process complaints
Gauteng Provincial Task Team (PTT) coordinator Hope Papo received a letter from Mbalula instructing him to handover all material related to the elective conference.
The Sunday Times reports that complaints received by Mbalula allege that candidate lists were altered and that the results announced did not match the raw data.
Additionally, complaints describe conflicts of interest between Gauteng Provincial Task Team members and the organisation appointed to oversee the elections, including the manner in which the organisation was appointed.
“The PTT is directed to facilitate a process to have all ballot papers, boxes, raw data and consolidated data, as well as the report from the elections agency, submitted to Saps with immediate effect,” Mbalula’s letter reads.
The secretary-general also demanded that the material be handled under tight security to be overseen by senior party members.
“The handover to Saps should be in the presence of ANC security, led by Comrade Patrick Mathebula, the ANC electoral committee and a representative of the ANC Veterans League,” Mbalula stated.
Money in chocolate boxes
Days before the regional ANC election, The Citizen received information from delegates alleging that some members were being bribed while booked into luxury venues in Sandton.
Additional complaints stated that money was being moved in Checkers packets and in chocolate boxes.
Speaking out against the allegations at the time, Morero said that vote-buying was hindering the ANC.
“The devil of money and money in politics are wrong. While we try at all times to condemn them and to talk about them, they do happen.
“Politics of money affect us because we end up electing people who are not fit for the task,” Morero told The Citizen.
*Additional reporting by Itumeleng Mafisa
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