Mpumalanga African National Congress (ANC) provincial coordinator Lindiwe Ntshalintshali says members who took the party to court, have no leg to stand on.

She was speaking on Friday during the long-awaited elective conference which is being held in Emalahleni and is currently facing a legal threat.

Four ANC members have taken the party to court, arguing that the national working committee’s (NWC's) decision to disband the provincial executive committee (PEC) and put in place a political task team is in violation of the ANC's constitution. They want the decision to be reversed.

Ntshalintshali said that some of the names mentioned in the court papers had already distanced themselves from the legal threat and added that the memberships of the people contesting the decision had lapsed and were not in good standing.

“The ANC has established forums where, if people have issues to raise, they would consult, such as the national dispute resolution committee or [they can] write to officials. We know that such members are from ward 30 in Emalahleni. We are just highly disappointed that they would want to challenge the decision of the structure by using letters. As ANC, we have been communicating with Luthuli House and we will be responding to what they are saying, but we do not think that they have a leg to stand on.

Despite the squabble, Ntshalintshali is hopeful that the 2022 elective conference will help the political party emerge so as to be structured in a way that allows it to focus on the needs of society. She further said that the focus should be on prioritising change within the branches.