South Africa's ANC in Talks to Align Party, National Elections

(Bloomberg) -- South Africa’s ruling African National Congress is in informal talks about aligning the election of the party’s president to that of the head of state at national elections, the party said.

“Has the ANC National Executive Committee discussed the alignment of the election of the party’s president to that of the election of the head of state at national elections? No,” Head of ANC Policy Jeff Radebe said in Johannesburg Monday. “Are there informal talks within the ANC about aligning the party’s election of a leader to the term of the head of state? Yes.”

The ANC holds an elective conference every five years which has historically not been aligned with the national elections, where a new head of state is voted in. The 18-month gap between the election of a new leader by the party and the head of state’s term has created speculation of “two centers of power” within the ruling party. Some members of the ANC have called for the alignment of the term for a head of state and the election of a new party head to reduce confusion and align the party and the state administration.

The party also intends to amend the Competition Act to promote faster, inclusive growth and transformation, Radebe said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Amogelang Mbatha in Johannesburg at ambatha@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alastair Reed at areed12@bloomberg.net, Jacqueline Mackenzie, Karl Maier

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