50th National Conference of the African National Congress
Introduction


The **50th National Conference of the African National Congress** (ANC) took place from 16 to 20 December 1997 at the [University of the North West](/wiki/University_of_the_North_West "University of the North West") in what was then called [Mafikeng](/wiki/Mahikeng "Mahikeng"). Attended by 3,000 voting delegates, the conference elected a successor to outgoing ANC President [Nelson Mandela](/wiki/Nelson_Mandela "Nelson Mandela"), who declined to stand for another term. [Thabo Mbeki](/wiki/Thabo_Mbeki "Thabo Mbeki") was elected unopposed, and [Jacob Zuma](/wiki/Jacob_Zuma "Jacob Zuma") was elected unopposed as his deputy; they were later elected President and Deputy President of the country in the [1999 general elections](/wiki/1999_South_African_general_election "1999 South African general election"), in which the ANC won 66\.35% of the vote, up from 62\.65% in 1994\.

Although the conference entirely changed the composition of the party's top leadership, with Mbeki and Zuma the only residuum of the so\-called "Top Six" as [elected in 1994](/wiki/49th_National_Conference_of_the_African_National_Congress "49th National Conference of the African National Congress"), most candidates were elected unopposed, and there was relatively little appearance of friction from any wing of the party. On some accounts, this was because the top leadership prepared assiduously for the conference, advocating unity and continuity, lobbying for a slate of preferred candidates, and negotiating compromises with potential dissidents. However, two of the top positions – National Chairperson and Deputy Secretary General – were contested, and neither went to the Mbeki\-allied candidate. The conference also elected the 60\-member [National Executive Committee](/wiki/National_Executive_Committee_of_the_African_National_Congress "National Executive Committee of the African National Congress") (NEC) without any significant upsets. Significant resolutions of the conference endorsed [cadre deployment](/wiki/Cadre_deployment "Cadre deployment"); endorsed the controversial [Growth, Employment and Redistribution](/wiki/Social_welfare_programs_in_South_Africa%23Growth%2C_Employment_and_Redistribution_%28GEAR%29 "Social welfare programs in South Africa#Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR)") policy; and changed the ANC constitution to reduce the frequency of the [national conferences](/wiki/National_Conference_of_the_African_National_Congress "National Conference of the African National Congress") and to centralise the election process for parliamentary candidates.


Why was there relatively little friction at the conference?