The ANC in the Eastern Cape is attaching no significance to the increased activity in recent weeks by its rival the Congress of the
People, the party said on Tuesday.

Provincial secretary Penny Majodina said she was aware of only "very few" people who had joined the Cope, whose base membership broke away from the ruling ANC in October last year.

Cope leaders had been touring the province in the past weeks to drum up support for their party, ahead of its manifesto launch in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.

"I mind myself with ANC matters... however, I know people are still in the ANC, very few have joined Cope... it's a new party, anyone can go and listen if they have a rally and there are many people there.

They can go and listen, but that does not mean they will join the party," she said.

"I don't bother myself with other people's houses, I have my own house to mind and that is the ANC."

Majodina said the province's "machinery has been oiled" and was ready to face the elections despite its list conference, which was still underway, being fraught with problems.

The province's list of candidates was "far from finalised" on
Tuesday evening, Majodina said, and may only be completed by 5pm on Wednesday.

The list conference at Walter Sisulu University of Technology in
Mthatha started on Sunday.

"It is far from being finalised. There are a number of pages, it won't be finished before 5 o' clock tomorrow afternoon."

Majodina said the independent agency which would oversee the process arrived late. There were also errors on some of the forms which required correction.

"The agency was not there. They only came on Sunday afternoon so we could not register delegates... once they arrived we then proceeded.

"We met to make sure the lists were cleaned up, a team made sure all the corrections were made, and they returned and we printed the ballot papers. Voting started yesterday... counting started this afternoon and would carry on throughout tonight until tomorrow evening," she said.

The list would then be presented to the provincial executive committee to be "re-ordered" according to gender parity, continuity, geographical spread, demographics, disability and age.