African National Congress provincial leaders have admitted that disgruntled members in Khayelitsha’s ward 93 have legitimate complaints about their ward councillor candidate.
This after ANC supporters in Ward 93 burnt tyres, blocking Lansdowne Road on Saturday evening in protest over the candidate appointed by the leadership.
Members even threatened to boycott the upcoming municipal elections on August 3 if provincial leaders failed to explain why their preferred candidate did not make it on the list.
Protestors claim their chosen person was removed from the list at the last minute and replaced by someone else.
Yesterday ANC spokesperson Yonela Diko told the Daily Voice the Provincial Executive Committee was looking into the matter.
“We are aware of the matter, in fact Richard Dyanti who is a PEC member went there and addressed the members,” he explains.
“Their complaint is that the candidate on the list is not the one they chose and the PEC member conceded it was a legitimate concern.
“The PEC is meeting on Wednesday and will discuss the matter and find a way forward.”
The ANC in the province has been inundated with complaints from wards in Khayelitsha and in the Nyanga and Gugulethu areas about the candidates’ lists for the upcoming elections.
The infighting has even led to the postponement of the ANC’s manifesto launch in the province last weekend, the party’s chief whip for the Dullah Omar region, Xolani Sotashe, admitted over the weekend.
It’s also the main reason behind the Ses’khona People’s Rights Movement’s decision to cut ties with the ANC.
The NGO gave the party until today to resolve the issue or they will find a new political home.