We begin in South Africa, where five thousand delegates of the ruling African National Congress have gathered in Johannesburg to elect new people to fill the party's top leadership positions. That includes a replacement for the current party chief, Jacob Zuma. The meeting takes place every five years. CGTN's Yolisa N-jamela filed this report.

YOLISA NJAMELA JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA "The conference comes against the backdrop of provincial conferences which have been marred by numerous controversies. There's also been an avalanche of court cases across provinces with comrades taking each other to court. As is - the conference will get underway a little later than planned.

The ANC National Executive Committee is currently in a meeting - discussing the final outcomes of the court cases. Some delegates have had to be barred from attending this conference. That is because the court declared some provincial conferences invalid citing irregularities. Among the expected outcomes of the five-day conference is the election of a new executive that will lead the organisation for the next five years.

Seven presidential candidates have been engaged in a fierce contestation to succeed President Jacob Zuma. The two front-runners are Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and former African Union Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. At the heart of many leaders' hopes here is that this conference will restore unity within the deeply divided organisation. Yolisa Njamela, CGTN, Johannesburg, South Africa."