Possible recount in ANC vote as members celebrate Ramaphosa's win

A member of the top organ of South Africa’s governing party (ANC) has confirmed to a local media portal, Eye Witness that the party’s steering committee is ‘looking into possible discrepancies involving over 60 votes which some believe were not counted’.

One of the main issues of contention is around the secretary-general position and the number of votes Senzo Mchunu and Ace Magashule received, with Mchunu walking up last night to the podium asking to see the numbers himself.

In the results announced yesterday by the party’s EleXions Committee, Senzo Mchunu received 2336 votes against Ace Magashule’s 2360 votes.

The latest development which comes ahead of elections for the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) could see the conference delay for another day.

#ANC54 An NEC member has confirmed to Eyewitness News that the nation steering committee meeting is this morning looking into possible discrepancies involving over 60 votes-which some believe were not counted.

— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) December 19, 2017

The voting for the 80 members of NEC takes longers and so does the counting of these votes.

The ANC’s conference is supposed to conclude on Wednesday, with the announcement of the additional NEC members and Cyril Ramsphosa’s first speech as ANC president.

Ramaphosa’s win has been welcomed by members of the ruling party across both camps, indicating that ANC might remain united after all. There had been grave fears that the two competing camps led by Ramaphosa and Nkozasana Dlamini-Zuma were too divided and might fail to unite behind one winner.

The ANC Youth League secretary general, Njabulo Nzuza says the youth welcome the election of the party’s top six leaders.

“It’s as a result of branches telling the ANC how they think leadership should be elected.” Nzuza saying the party branches had shown that they want unity.

Ramaphosa will be expected to unite the party and consolidate its strengths ahead of the country’s general elections in 2019.

“We are happy that we managed to elect the top leadership of the ANC… We are happy that at least we came out of the conference being united.” Zikalaka Snuki, president of the ANC’s veteran league.

“Both camps have won. Cyril promised he will fight corruption. He is a good man. We want Zuma to finish his mandate,” said another delegate at the conference.

The new ANC leadership will have to convince South Africans of reform after 10 years of Zuma’s leadership that were tainted by corruption scandalms and economic regression.