South Africa’s ruling party on Friday launches a closely watched conference that looks set to re-elect Cyril Ramaphosa as leader, despite a tarnishing cash-heist scandal.
Some 4,500 African National Congress (ANC) delegates from across the country are due to vote during the five-day convention at an events centre near Johannesburg.
Ramaphosa is bidding to retain the reins of the African National Congress (ANC) as the storied party struggles with rifts and declining support after 28 years in power.
Portraying himself as a graft-busting champion, Ramaphosa took control of the ANC in 2017 after his boss Jacob Zuma became mired in corruption.
The party’s majority in parliament means that it also has control over approving the national president.
But Ramaphosa’s clean-hands image has been dented by allegations he concealed a huge cash burglary at his farm rather than report the matter to the authorities.
Despite this, analysts say the 70-year-old leader remains on track to win the party leadership election, expected to take place among delegates on Saturday.
“The ANC needs Ramaphosa. He will win,” said political writer Ralph Mathekga. “Even those who hate him need him to win.”
Outside the conference venue, decked out in the party’s green, yellow and black colours, a group of delegates chanted in Zulu that Ramaphosa should leave the presidency over the farmgate scandal. They also sang a popular pro-Zuma song.
On the eve of the conference Zuma announced he is suing Ramaphosa over a leaked medical report linked to a 1990s arms corruption trial.
But the lawsuit is unlikely to hamper Ramaphosa’s chances of securing a second term as ANC leader.
A victory would secure him a ticket to a fresh term as president after the 2024 elections, if his party wins that vote.
Source: Africa News