Free State ANC conference 'cannot go ahead'
The High Court in Bloemfontein has ruled that African National Congress (ANC) general branch meetings held over the past few months were irregular and unconstitutional.
This means the ANC's Free State provincial conference cannot go ahead this weekend as scheduled.
A group of disgruntled ANC members approached the court seeking the disbandment of the Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) and a declaration that the general branch meetings were not in line with the ANC's constitution.
The group, which Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa as the next party leader, claim they were prevented from attending meetings.
The group's legal representative, Hanno Bekker, says the upcoming provincial conference cannot go ahead until the branch general meetings are conducted in a lawful manner.
"There is a majority judgement. The branch general meetings that were held in August, September, October and November were declared null and void and has to be re-run. Until such time, there can be no conference. This means that the provincial conference scheduled in December cannot proceed and effectively means that it has been interdicted."