SOUTH AFRICA: Thousands of ANC delegates begin voting for the party's next President

Record ID: 455883

  • Title: SOUTH AFRICA: Thousands of ANC delegates begin voting for the party's next President
  • Date: 18th December 2007
  • Summary: (BN06) LIMPOPO, SOUTH AFRICA, (DECEMBER 18, 2007) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SCORES OF AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS (ANC) DELEGATES ARRIVING AT POLLING STATION TO VOTE FOR A NEW ANC PRESIDENT DELEGATES SHOUTING " JACOB ZUMA WILL UNITE THE ANC " MORE DELEGATES ARRIVING (SOUNDBITE) (English) AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS (ANC) DELEGATE SAYING : "The press is wrong all about this, you proclaimed long time ago that Thabo will win the game but JZ (Jacob Zuma) is our man. JZ will win, JZ will be the next President of this country, we start here and then from here we'll move on to the Presidency in 2009." HIGH VIEW OF HUNDREDS OF QUEUING OUTSIDE POLLING STATION, IINE SNAKING AROUND BUILDINGS VIEW FROM GROUND OF VOTERS QUEUING OUTSIDE, SOME OF THEM DANCING (SOUNDBITE) (English) AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS (ANC) DELEGATE SAYING : "There is nothing wrong with comrade Thabo Mbeki, it is just that he has finished his term and we are saying good-bye, go and relax, advise us, contribute in the ANC in any other way, and we have Jacob Zuma that we have nurtured and we know he is going to lead, he is capable man, he is good leader." MORE OF DELEGATES ARRIVING AT THE POLLING STATION
  • Embargoed: 2nd January 2008 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: South Africa
  • Country: South Africa
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA54DZ3CCXSNWPBX9527J8L7P1F
  • Story Text: South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) on Tuesday (December 18) began voting in a leadership election expected to be won by Jacob Zuma and put him on track to become the country's president in 2009.
    The vote, in which Zuma is favoured to prevent President Thabo Mbeki winning a third term as ANC leader, started two hours later than scheduled on Tuesday morning, at eight local time (0600 GMT). It had already been delayed by two days.
    The vote will be counted manually rather than electronically at the insistence of Zuma's supporters, who say they fear rigging by Mbeki. The process is likely to take most of the day.
    "The press is wrong all about this, you proclaimed long time ago that Thabo will win the game but JZ (Jacob Zuma) is our man. JZ will win, JZ will be the next President of this country, we start here and then from here we'll move on to the Presidency in 2009," said one delegate.
    "There is nothing wrong with comrade Thabo Mbeki, it is just that he has finished his term and we are saying good-bye, go and relax, advise us, contribute in the ANC in any other way, and we have Jacob Zuma that we have nurtured and we know he is going to lead, he is capable man, he is good leader," said another delegate.
    Some investors are nervous about a Zuma victory, fearing it could tilt South Africa to the left and change Mbeki's conservative policies, which have stoked a booming economy.
    Zuma, who is backed by trade unions and the Communist Party has tried to woo investors and says he will not change economic direction.
    But the rand fell to a three-week low on Monday (December 17) partly due to fears about Zuma, although it recovered some ground on Tuesday.
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