That shift was taken as reflective of the ongoing broadening of the membership base of the ANC, which since 1990 had begun to re-establish legal structures inside South Africa.

The Johannesburg conference in 1990 was the first held in South Africa since 1960, but abstained from making major decisions: it resolved to reaffirm the composition of the leadership as elected at Kabwe.

Since February 1990, the organisation had also set about re-establishing legal structures for members inside South Africa, a process which involved integrating the ANC's membership in exile with elements of the internal movement against apartheid – not only the ANC's internal underground, but also the Mass Democratic Movement (MDM) and its constituent organisations, including the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the trade unions – and also with recently released political prisoners, including but not limited to the Rivonia Triallists.

[9] On 2 July, the opening session of the conference began late – "in true ANC fashion", as one delegate observed[9] – with a prayer delivered by Archbishop Trevor Huddleston of the international Anti-Apartheid Movement.

[8] The conference was formerly opened with the political report of the ANC president, which, because Tambo had been weakened by a stroke, was delivered jointly with his deputy, Nelson Mandela.

[11] The 2,244 voting delegates at the conference represented three main categories of ANC membership: the newly established internal regions, inside South Africa; the external regions, in Southern African and Western countries, and also including Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the Women's League, and the Youth League; and the chief representatives of the ANC's key departments and various international offices.

[7] The results of the leadership elections, announced at the end of 6 July after a day-long secret ballot, were as follows (victorious candidates in bold):[13][5] The election of Cyril Ramaphosa as Secretary General received particular attention, and was viewed as symbolic of the ANC's new direction and changing membership; Ramaphosa was an internal activist, attending the conference in his capacity as a leader of the National Union of Mineworkers.

Ramaphosa was associated with the MDM's public "ostracism" of Madikizela-Mandela due to the conduct of her "football club",[4] and her patron and favoured candidate, Alfred Nzo, was defeated in two votes.

[7] The following candidates received the most votes:[12] The composition of the committee again represented the broadening of the organisation's base: prominent UDF activists ranked high in the election results, among them Terror Lekota, Steve Tshwete, Popo Molefe, Cheryl Carolus, and Trevor Manuel.

[16] By 1991, serious negotiations to end apartheid were underway, and the ANC had committed to suspending the armed struggle – until then waged under the auspices of MK – in the Pretoria Minute of August 1990.

[15] Thus the conference reiterated the ANC's commitment to end apartheid peacefully,[15] but also resolved to maintain and expand MK structures inside the country.

[1] According to delegates present, the most heated debate of the conference took place on the afternoon of 3 July, when the floor discussed a proposal to include a principle of affirmative action in the organisation's new constitution.

[17] Delegates had an impassioned debate on the matter: Frene Ginwala, for example, lodged a forceful defence of the quota, while Terror Lekota argued that it would be anti-meritocratic.

[17][9] When the conference reconvened in the evening, Mandela, as outgoing deputy president, appealed that, instead of a vote, the delegates should reach a compromise in order to avoid sowing division.

The quota provision was eliminated from the constitution, but a clause was added which committed the ANC to investigate and undertake affirmative action to correct gender imbalances.

[9] The declaration adopted by the conference, "as our collective message to our country and to the world", reflects the hopefulness of the early transitional period in South Africa:This 48th National Conference of the ANC, comes at a time when our country and its people are poised to commence the last leg of our long struggle to bring an end to minority domination and usher in an era of democracy and peace.

We remain convinced that the only real hope for the future of our country and its people lies in the creation of a democratic society based on humane values.