Johannesburg - News coming out of the 55th ANC National Conference in Nasrec is that credentials have been adopted following a series of challenges to the start of the first and second days of the conference.
Steve Mabona, a member of the ANC's department of communications and publicity, confirmed the news to members of the media.
This has kicked off the beginning of the nominations process, which will reveal who will be in the top six on the ANC members list.
"Please note that the adoption of credentials has been completed. We will be calling you in a short while to alert you of the nomination process," Mabona told members of the media on Saturday night.
Credentials for the ANC's 55th national conference were adopted after 10 p.m. on Saturday, December 17, 2022.
This has meant that more than 4 000 delegates are now ready to take part in the voting process, which was set to begin in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Earlier in the day, ANC national spokesperson Pule Mabe told members of the media during a press briefing that collapse of the conference was not an option, saying this would set a bad precedent.
Many have accused the ANC of trying to stall the conference to allow those affiliated with the ANC president an opportunity to re-organise themselves in a bid to once again steal the process from those seeking to oust Ramaphosa.
Mabe has denied that there is a deliberate attempt to collapse the conference. "We have called on all our chairs and regional secretaries to go out there, to their delegates, and consolidate one sacred message: that the collapse of this conference will be an indictment on the leadership overall, not just on the national executive committee.
Of all the nine provinces and 52 regions, nearly 4 500 delegates are in this conference. The second day of the 55th ANC National Conference, which has been stalled and mired by issues of adoption of credentials and power cuts, erupted into song and dance around the Nasrec Conference precinct as various delegates continued to call for change.
Delegates from provinces such as the North West, KZN, and some Eastern Cape delegates walked around the venue saying they want change, while others shouted "akabuyi" (he is not coming back), referring to ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa. Other delegates called for Zweli to rise up and take over from Ramaphosa, singing "Wena Zweli Uyaz" (Zweli, you know).
The Star