SOUTH AFRICA: South Africa's president tipped to win another term at the helm of the African National Congress

Record ID: 342929

  • Title: SOUTH AFRICA: South Africa's president tipped to win another term at the helm of the African National Congress
  • Date: 17th December 2012
  • Summary: BLOEMFONTEIN, SOUTH AFRICA (DECEMBER 17, 2012) (REUTERS) AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS (ANC) CONFERENCE WITH BANNERS ANC BANNERS ANC CONFERENCE DELEGATES CHANTING NOMINEE FOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT, CYRIL RAMAPHOSA, WALKING INTO THE ROOM DELEGATES CHANTING AND DANCING DELEGATES SEATED DEPUTY PRESIDENT KGALEMA MOTLANTHE AND PRESIDENT JACOB ZUMA SEATED VARIOUS OF DELEGATES MOTL
  • Embargoed: 1st January 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: South Africa
  • Country: South Africa
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA6ZWZBJYE5F9ZXK1MWWOBS4XLJ
  • Story Text: South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) delegates on Monday (December 17) are expected to vote for the top six leadership positions in the party, with President Jacob Zuma favourite to win another term at the helm of the organisation.
    That would tee him up to contest a second five-year term as president in a 2014 election.
    But Zuma is being challenged by his current deputy, Kgalema Motlanthe.
    Both men received cheers when their nominations were read out by ANC electoral commission representative, Thabile Thomas.
    Zuma came to power in middle of the first recession in 18 years and has been dogged by a string of scandals, the latest of which concerns a 240 million rand ($28 million) state-funded upgrade to his private residence.
    However, he has used his considerable political acumen - honed in decades of underground struggle against apartheid - to squash his opponents and ensure allegations of impropriety come to nothing.
    Motlanthe has declined nomination for the post of deputy president, and will contend only for president position.
    Meanwhile South African politician-turned-businessman Cyril Ramaphosa will contest for the deputy's role.
    Ramaphosa came to prominence in the 1980s as leader of the National Union of Mineworkers and was a key player in the battle against white-minority rule.
    In his role as Chief ANC negotiator in the talks that led to the transition to democracy in 1994, he was tipped as successor to Nelson Mandela but slipped out of politics in the late 1990s in favour of commerce.
    He is now South Africa's second-richest black businessman.
    It appears that Zuma is a favourite among many delegates.

    "I'm fully behind second term for Zuma, he is going to win." said ANC delegate Tshepo Ramathe.

    "I'm very much happy with the nominations process, and we are very sure that second term, second term we are winning," said Tshepo Sehume.
    Insiders at the ANC gathering in Bloemfontein said Ramaphosa had solid support and that Zuma believes the 60-year-old lawyer would bring new moral authority if he dislodges Motlanthe, who has mounted what most see as a doomed challenge to Zuma.
    mg/jrc
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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