African National Congress (ANC) MP Tony Yengeni is no longer barred from contesting for a leadership position at the ANC's national elective conference in Johannesburg over the weekend.

Yengeni successfully appealed his disqualification from the leadership contest after being barred from nomination because of his criminal conviction.

Yengeni was not nominated for a leadership position on the ANC national executive committee (NEC) but chose to fight his exclusion.

Over the weekend, the ANC electoral committee, headed by former ANC leader Kgalema Motlanthe, informed Yengeni of his ineligibility to contest for any position at the conference because of his criminal conviction for fraud.

The ANC's new electoral rules prevent members previously convicted of criminal offences from contesting for leadership roles.

Yengeni's 2003 conviction for fraud and four-year prison sentence prevented him from participating.

But the ANC NEC member filed an appeal, saying his disqualification could not stand because in the eyes of the law he had no criminal conviction.

Yengeni said he had applied to the Department of Justice for his criminal record to be expunged, which was successfully granted.

In a letter signed by Motlanthe, seen by News24, the committee confirmed that Yengeni's appeal had been granted.

"The electoral committee has duly decided to uphold your appeal based on the substantive reasons and proof of the expungement of your criminal records as furnished by yourself. We, therefore, wish to confirm that you are no longer disqualified from being a candidate for the NEC positions during the 55th national conference of the ANC," the letter stated.

The committee also issued a disqualification letter for former ANC Women's League president Bathabile Dlamini. She was nominated for an NEC position and received 856 nominations. Dlamini was convicted of perjury and sentenced to a four-year prison sentence or a fine of R200 000.

She sent a legal letter to the ANC committee threatening to sue over her disqualification.