The ANC will not discuss leadership and succession during the party’s 5th National General Council (NGC)
The ANC’s 5th National General Council is underway at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg from the 8th to the 11th of December 2025 under the theme, “The Year of Renewal to Make the ANC a More Effective Instrument of the People to Achieve the Vision of the Freedom Charter: The People Shall Govern! The People Shall Share in the Wealth of the Country!”
The purpose of the African National Congress (ANC) National General Council (NGC) is to serve as the second-highest decision-making body of the party, operating as a critical mid-term assessment and strategic platform between its National Conferences. The NGC is a large gathering of delegates from ANC structures, including branches, provinces, the National Executive Committee (NEC), and members of the Tripartite Alliance. It is convened by the NEC not later than 30 months after the last National Conference.
Defense of the Government of National Unity (GNU)
The context for the 5th NGC is the political shift following the 2024 National Election, where the ANC, under President Ramaphosa, secured only 40.18% of the national vote and lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since the dawn of democracy. This result pushed the ANC to seek a multiparty Government of National Unity (GNU).
This move created a rift between the ANC and its Tripartite Alliance partners (COSATU and the SACP), who indicated that the ANC was now “in bed with the enemy.”
In his opening address at the NGC, President Ramaphosa defended the establishment of the GNU. The President stated that the decision to establish the GNU was made by the ANC’s main leadership group, the National Executive Committee (NEC), right after the 2024 elections when the party got less than 50% of the vote—the first time that had happened since 1994.
Calls for Leadership Change Dismissed
Despite the pushback against the GNU, the ANC has dismissed calls for leadership changes. There have been growing calls from within the ANC, allegedly originating in the Eastern Cape, for President Ramaphosa to resign, the NEC to be disbanded, and the leadership to be replaced with a national task team led by former president Thabo Mbeki.
However, ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri confirmed that there will be no discussion about leadership and succession during the party’s 5th NGC underway in Boksburg, adding that “this is not the time for that discussion.”