Ramaphosa’s ANC Presidential Bid Hangs in the Balance As Integrity Commission’s Finding Might Disqualify Him

• Presidents Cyril Ramphosa has survived a long weekend of attempts to have him removed as president of the African National Congress
• However, Ramaphosa now faces the risk of being disqualified from his bid for a second term as ANC president
• This comes as the party's integrity committee report found that Ramaphosa's Phala Phala burglary scandal brought the party into disrepute

JOHANNESBURG - President Cyril Ramaphosa has survived attempts to have him ousted as African National Congress leader after a long weekend of heated debate at the ANC's National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.

The president may have dodged being unseated by his opponents, but Ramaphosa is not out of the woods yet. President Ramaphosa's bid for a second term as ANC president is now threatened by the ruling party's integrity commission finding against him.

Read also

Cyril Ramaphosa goes to church and sings and dances in video, peeps want him for 2nd term: "Phakama Ramaphosa"

The integrity commission, responsible for enforcing the ANC's step-aside policy, tabled a report on the Phala Phala burglary saga during the NEC meeting. The report found that the burglary scandal brought the party into disrepute and damaged the reputation of the ANC, but the commission could not agree on whether the president should step aside because of the scandal, The Witness reported.

This may spell trouble for Ramaphosa's contestation for the top job at the ANC electoral conference in December as the rules state that as long as an ANC member has a finding from the integrity commission against them, they may not be eligible to contest for leadership positions.

According to News24, the ruling party must now decide whether they will enforce the rules of the electoral committee ahead of the elective conference and consider the integrity commission report in its evaluation of Ramaphosa's eligibility to contest for the position of ANC president.

Read also

Phala Phala: Presidency challenges calls for Ramaphosa to step aside, saying he hasn't been charged

South Africans weigh in on the integrity committee's report

South Africans are on the fence over the report's findings about the Phala Phala scandal.

Here are some comments:

@Garikai_Mhlanga demanded:

"Let him step aside"

@MelikhayaPants1 claimed:

"Pule and Mantashe will dismiss this purported IC Report...just be patient."

@MsiziMoyo4 added:

"This report is so twisted and glaringly inadequate, so full of incomplete suppositions and tries so hard to avoid the obvious."

@Mavovo2019 asked:

"Is it the scandal or Cyril that has brought ANC into disrepute?"

Phala Phala: Presidency disputes grounds for calling Ramaphosa to step aside, stating he hasn’t been charged

In a related matter, Briefly News reported that the African National Congress (ANC) first physical National Executive Conference (NEC) meeting in two years has come to a close. President Cyril Ramaphosa has resolved not to step aside as president of the ANC.

Ramaphosa's opponents have intensified calls for him to step aside amid the Phala Phala scandal accusations. But Ramaphosa's spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, questioned the motivations behind the calls during a media briefing on Sunday, 13 November.

Read also

S.Africa's Ramaphosa brushes aside calls to quit

According to SowetanLIVE, Magwenya said that the president had not been charged with any crime, making the step-aside rule inapplicable to Ramaphosa. The president's spokesperson added that Ramaphosa would willingly step aside if the series of investigations into the burglary of foreign currency brought forth any criminal charges.

Source: Briefly News