51st National Conference of the African National Congress
The 51st National Conference of the African National Congress (ANC) was held at the University of Stellenbosch in Stellenbosch, Western Cape, from 16 to 20 December 2002, during the ANC's 90th anniversary.[1] President Thabo Mbeki was re-elected to the party presidency and, notably, there was no change in other five top leadership positions except for Deputy Secretary General. There was also little competition for other spots on the National Executive Committee (NEC). This ANC conference has thus been called "the quietest in its history."[2]
The theme of the conference was "People's Power in Action – Phambili Mavoluntiya – Afrika ke Nako."[3] 3,400 voting delegates attended, including 3,060 from the provincial branches.[1] The Zimbabwean ruling party, Zanu-PF, were also invited as observers.[4][5] Alongside Mbeki, the conference re-elected Jacob Zuma as Deputy President, Kgalema Motlanthe as Secretary General, Terror Lekota as National Chairperson, and Mendi Msimang as Treasurer General; the new addition was Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyele, who was appointed unopposed as Deputy Secretary General when the incumbent declined to take another term.
Despite tensions within the party – including rumours of potential electoral challenges to Mbeki and other top leaders – and between Mbeki and the ANC's Tripartite Alliance partners, the only significant disagreement among delegates was about a resolution supporting Black Economic Empowerment, which was ultimately adopted. The conference is often remembered for Mbeki's biting speech during the closing session, which some commentators believe exacerbated divisions between Mbeki and the party's left wing.[6] At the 2004 general elections, to which the conference was a precursor, the ANC won a supermajority of 69.69% of the national vote, the most it had won since 1994 or has won since.
The conference appointed the following individuals to the ANC's "Top Six" positions:[16]
In 2001, there had been rumours that a group within the ANC might try to unseat Mbeki, perhaps with Zuma or Joel Netshitenzhe as the challenging candidate.[9] There had also been rumours that some provinces planned to support Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma for the chairmanship, that certain groups planned to support Lekota for the deputy presidency, and that other leftist groups planned to retract their support for Motlanthe.[5] However, ultimately, none of the positions were contested. The provinces had only nominated incumbents of the Top Six, and no nominations were proposed from the floor of the conference.[5] Mthembi-Mahanyele was appointed unopposed as Deputy Secretary General when the incumbent, Thenjiwe Mtintso, declined a second term on the grounds of ill health; there were no other changes to the composition of the Top Six between 1997 and 2007.[17]