The African Transformation Movement (ATM) says it needs to establish and strengthen its branches prior to holding its elective conference.
Speaking with The Star yesterday, party’s spokesperson, Zama Ntshona, said the organisation just recently celebrated its fifth anniversary and participated in its second general elections, saying that in alignment with its foundational objectives, the ATM was currently undertaking a robust initiative focused on the strengthening of its branches, structures and leagues.
Ntshona said this strategic focus was essential to ensure that the ATM operated effectively in serving the interests of all South Africans, adding that an elective conference was not imminent at this time.
“Despite any prevailing concerns, the ATM expresses unwavering confidence in its membership and the progress made thus far. However, we have not yet achieved the requisite 70% threshold for launched and audited branches, which is essential for convening a conference.
“In the meantime, we benefit from capable national, provincial, and regional structures that are diligently working towards this goal. The timing of the conference will ultimately be dictated by the mandate of the populace, who are continually joining the ATM,” the party spokesperson said.
Once a significant number of citizens demonstrate their support, as evidenced by achieving occupancy in 70% of the 4 484 wards nationwide, the party would acknowledge a state of readiness for the conference.
“The ATM's membership footprint extends across all nine provinces, encompassing metropolitan areas, local municipalities, and district municipalities. Our representation includes 55 councillors, two members of Parliament, and one member of the provincial legislature in the Eastern Cape,” Ntshona said.
The party did not perform well in the last elections. The ATM had hoped to double its two seats in the National Assembly
Ntshona blamed the poor performance on the number of irregularities in the capturing of votes.
“We sent over 200 cases of discrepancies when it comes to voter capturing and asked through a lawyer’s letter that the IEC must not release the results. The IEC ignored that and continued with the announcements,” Ntshona said at the time.
He listed instances of irregularities, saying they had been prevalent in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape, the Northern Cape and Gauteng.
The Star