While the outgoing ANC president is heading in his own direction, outside the control of the ANC, the government, and Parliament, the battle for a new ANC president is continuing. There are still three main scenarios for a winner (in alphabetical order): Dlamini-Zuma, Mkhize and Ramaphosa.

According to the numbers of delegates from the various provinces that have now been determined, it is clear that there has been strong growth in Mpumalanga (736 delegates), and only KwaZulu-Natal has more (870).  The Eastern Cape and Limpopo come in at three and four (648 and 643 respectively). North West and Gauteng are in the middle group (538 and 508), with the Free State (409), Northern Cape (197) and Western Cape (182) at the lower end. The branches make up 90% of the 5 300 delegates, with the rest coming from the Leagues and the Provincial Executive Committees (PECs).