Talks of a woman president to succeed Cyril Ramaphosa are gaining momentum inside Luthuli House, with a growing number of National Executive Committee (NEC) members now whispering the name of National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza as the favourite to take over at the ANC’s 2027 elective conference.
Sources inside the governing party say that while the succession race has not been officially opened, the corridors are abuzz with conversations about the need for a woman to lead the ANC as it tries to recover from its worst electoral decline since 1994.
Two names have consistently been bandied about – Didiza and former minister and current ANC NEC member Nomvula Mokonyane. But it is Didiza whose name is now being mentioned overwhelmingly.
“There had been talks of a woman to succeed Cyril Ramaphosa in 2027 and the name that consistently is bandied about is that of Thoko Didiza and that one of Nomvula Mokonyane,” a senior NEC member told this publication.
Tbe source added that Didiza’s name had been popular recently and had made the rounds because there was now a need for a woman president.
” It’s been a long time coming…and those that are pushing for a woman have passed the 50% mark.
He said that Didiza has the support of Ramaphosa himself, as well as ANC national chairperson Gwede Mantashe, although Mantashe has publicly dismissed claims that he and the President are backing her candidacy.
Insiders have also revealed that Didiza has been introduced to key ANC funders and major businesses.
She is also believed to be supported by factions aligned with former President Thabo Mbeki, given that Didiza was one of the high-ranking officials to have resigned after Mbeki was recalled in 2008.
Playing her cards close to her chest, Didiza has not dismissed the notion of contesting for the ANC’s top job.
Ramaphosa had initially been said to prefer his close ally, former Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, as his successor, but allegations against Mchunu have weakened that prospect, even though some leaders in KwaZulu-Natal believe it is too early to rule him out.
The contest is shaping up to be bruising, with Didiza likely to face off against Deputy President Paul Mashatile and Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula, both of whom have already begun assembling their lobbying machinery.
Mashatile is gaining traction in his home base of Gauteng, as well as in the North West and parts of Limpopo, while Mbalula is consolidating support in the Free State, Mpumalanga and the Western Cape.
The ANC has never had a woman president in its 113-year history, despite its rhetoric about gender equality and its 50/50 policy.
Other contenders are also being floated, among them billionaire Patrice Motsepe and Tokyo Sexwale, whose lobby group, the “Tokyo/Mvela Perspective,” is campaigning for his comeback.
A recent Social Research Foundation poll put Motsepe ahead as the most preferred candidate at 33%.