The enemy within: factionalism in ANC local structures — the case of Buffalo City (East London)

Factionalism became a defining characteristic of African National Congress (ANC) intraparty politics during the lead up to the 2007 Polokwane conference. However, despite regular reference to ANC factionalism, a systematic academic analysis of this phenomenon has been left wanting. This is in line with global trends whereby factionalism is still a relatively understudied phenomenon. Generally, studies that have sought to understand factionalism have focused on parties at a national level and viewed it as driven by party leaders. In South Africa, similarly, scholars have focused on factionalism through analysis of the politics of the tripartite alliance which has been regarded as a partial institutionalisation of factionalism. This article on the other hand takes a micro level approach and contributes to our understanding of factionalism in ANC sub-national structures. Drawing on a case study of the ANC Buffalo City region in the Eastern Cape, the article shows that in addition to local party elites, ordinary party members in poor communities also often use factional support to access resources in constrained socio-economic conditions. Material interests therefore inform factionalism but are sometimes masked by ideological interests that draw on party divisions on national scale.