Delegates from KwaZulu-Natal, the largest contingent, are currently voting for the Top Six at the African National Congress (ANC) national elective congress at Nasrec, south of Johannesburg. The delegates from Gauteng, the Eastern Cape and Limpopo still have to vote. The North West delegates were the last provincial group to finish voting.

Speaking on AM Live the ANC spokesperson, Khusela Sangoni says, “There are three provinces that are yet to vote, but during the course of the day we’ll be able to get to the announcement of the results. We are also going to be having a business briefing this morning, which will be led by comrade Lindiwe Zulu who is deployed as the minister for small business development. The rest of our conference programme will then unfold from there. So while this provinces are still voting plenary will resume at 9am, and then in the afternoon we will go into commissions dealing with strategy and tactics as well as organisational development.”

Here’s a quick reminder how the contest has shaped up in the last twelve hours:

-Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, President Jacob Zuma’s ex-wife were confirmed as the sole contenders for the top job. Ramaphosa was nominated by five provinces while the remaining four backed Dlamini-Zuma.
-David Mabuza, the premier of the eastern Mpumalanga province, and Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu will square off in the contest for the ANC deputy presidency.
-Gwede Mantashe, the party’s outgoing secretary-general, will vie for the post of chairman against Nathi Mthethwa.
-Senzo Mchunu, the former premier of KwaZulu-Natal province, and Ace Magashule, the premier of the central Free State region, were nominated for secretary-general.
-Jessie Duarte is competing for her current position as deputy secretary-general against against Zingiswa Losi.
-Gauteng ANC chairperson Paul Mashatile is going head-to-head with Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, the minister of International Relations and Cooperation, for the position of treasurer-general.

The presidential race remains nail-bitingly close. Both sides held large caucuses during the conference at which they conducted head counts of their voting delegates. Both sides declared that they had sufficient numbers to secure a victory.

The running battles at the conference provide a more objective assessment of who could emerge as the winner.

Most of the losses before the conference were wrought on the Dlamini-Zuma camp and the Ramaphosa side has achieved key victories.

A key victory for Dlamini-Zuma was an endorsement by Mpumalanga ANC chairman David Mabuza days before the conference started. He brought the second-largest delegation to the conference and has long vacillated over whether to support her.

[Source: SABC news/Times Live]