Attention is expected to shift to the African National Congress's (ANC's) national executive committee (NEC) on Tuesday as the political party's 54th National Elective Conference enters its fourth day.

This, as the different slates seek to fill the NEC with its preferred 80 members.

On Monday, Cyril Ramaphosa beat former AU Commission chairperson Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma to become the ANC's 14th president.

Mpumalanga's David Mabuza was elected deputy president, the Free State's Ace Magashule took the secretary general spot and Gauteng chairperson Paul Mashatile was voted treasurer general. Jessie Duarte retained her position as deputy secretary general.

Tough road ahead

Mabuza told News24 ahead of the announcement that the new leadership had a difficult task ahead of it.

"It's going to be a tough road ahead," he said during the plenary session.

He added that there was a lot of division that the new leadership collective needed to address.

The announcement of the new leadership left supporters on both sides baffled.

Some claimed they had been betrayed by their comrades and others backtracked from previous comments they had made during the lead up to the conference.

The ANC Youth League said it would throw its weight behind Ramaphosa and work with him, putting their past criticism of him behind them.

Meanwhile ANC KwaZulu-Natal delegation leader Sihle Zikalala said they would not mope, following what some might deem an "unfortunate" result for his preferred slate.

"I'm not sure whether the word unfortunate is relevant here. It will sound like we lost and were beaten. No, we weren't beaten," he told journalists at Nasrec.

"Those who emerge, they will emerge out of the democratic will of the ANC. The members of the ANC have spoken. The members of the ANC have rejected slates and embraced all."

Zikalala congratulated Ramaphosa on his victory, and said they would pledge their loyalty to him as new president, along with the others in the party's top six.

"For us in KwaZulu-Natal, it is not a sad day, but it's a good lesson. It's a lesson that divisions undermine your strength."

They must unite the ANC at a provincial level.

Now that they are going into policies, KwaZulu-Natal will be pushing for their desired outcomes.

Part of their wishes is to see land expropriation without compensation become future policy.