Ngcukayitobi takes on Mbalula over ANC election blunder

Eastern Cape ANC provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi has fired an extraordinary salvo at party secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, demanding answers over the party’s botched submission of council candidates for the local government elections.

In a letter dated August 31, Ngcukayitobi demanded a detailed report from Mbalula’s office setting out exactly which candidates the ANC submitted to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) in the Eastern Cape and whether the party complied with the nomination requirements.

The move has exposed a growing rift between the two secretaries, with ANC insiders describing an increasingly tense battle over who should take responsibility for the party’s electoral blunder.

The dispute centres on the ANC’s incomplete submission of council candidates in the Eastern Cape before last week’s IEC deadline.

According to insiders, Mbalula’s office and Ngcukayitobi have been at odds over who should carry the blame for the failed submission, with the dispute threatening to become a political liability for both sides.

Sources said Ngcukayitobi was particularly concerned that responsibility for the incomplete lists could be shifted to the provincial structures, despite the involvement of the national office in the submission process.

One insider said Ngcukayitobi’s demand for a detailed account was aimed at establishing a clear record of what was submitted, by whom and when.

Another source said the provincial secretary was seeking to “clear his name” should the ANC ultimately fail to persuade the IEC to accept the outstanding candidates.

The provincial leaders said that while they are aware of the letter, they claimed that it was not sanctioned by the provincial executive committee.

As a result [of technical problems with the IEC’s candidate-capture system], a small number of the movement’s entries are being finalised together with the commission. This is a technical and administrative matter, and it is being handled through the commission’s established processes.

The sources cautioned that the dispute had become increasingly sensitive because any failure to get candidates onto the ballot could have serious consequences for the ANC’s performance in the Eastern Cape.

The row comes as Mbalula’s office and the IEC have publicly offered sharply different accounts of what went wrong.

In a statement on Monday, Mbalula’s office said the ANC had successfully lodged the names of the “overwhelming majority” of its candidates within the nomination deadline, but claimed the IEC’s candidate-capture system had experienced technical problems affecting a number of parties.

“As a result, a small number of the movement’s entries are being finalised together with the commission. This is a technical and administrative matter, and it is being handled through the commission’s established processes,” Mbalula’s office said.