African National Congress (ANC) secretary general Gwede Mantashe on Monday described as unacceptable presidential hopefuls announcing “a line-up of comrades to be elected as officials” during South Africa’s ruling party elective conference in December.

Mantashe’s statement comes after deputy ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa at an event in the Limpopo province at the weekend announced Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor as his running mate. He announced further that his slate would include Senzo Mchunu, who was removed as KwaZulu-Natal Premier last year, as secretary-general, Mantashe as national chairperson and ANC chairperson in Gauteng, Paul Mashatile, as treasurer-general.

“Such pronouncements are unacceptable, whether comrades have a preference or not and seek to usurp the entrenched right of the branches to nominate candidates of their choosing,” Mantashe said.

“The 2015 National General Council resolved to outlaw slates and reaffirm the role of the branch as the basic unit of the ANC. Accordingly, in implementing this resolution, the NEC directed that we ensure branch nominations are not tampered with and that the will of the branches is reflected and respected.”

Mantashe, who himself was named as part of Ramaphosa’s slate, called on the party’s leaders to desist from circulating slates.