ANTHONY BUTLER: As December approaches, the Zuma camp may have already overplayed its hand
The ANC constitution leaves no doubt about the authority of the movement’s national conference: it must be convened "at least once every five years", and it is "the supreme ruling and controlling body of the ANC". Its formidable powers include determining the ANC’s policy, programme, and constitution, electing the "top six" officials and choosing the 80 additional members of the national executive committee (NEC). As President Jacob Zuma’s power has ebbed, his attempt to impose Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as his successor has lost the little credibility it once enjoyed. Given that the conference is now unlikely to assent easily to his plans for the future of the organisation, his strategists may contemplate four areas where there is space for escalation: rigging; smearing; vexatious litigation; and violence. Rigging is harder than it seems, despite the money reportedly being pumped into vote buying, and the membership system manipulation that is now prevalent across the whole movement. T...
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