Cyril Ramaphosa Wins ANC Leadership Battle in South Africa

South Africa's ruling African National Congress will vote for its new president on Monday, as delegates choose between two candidates to lead Nelson Mandela's historic liberation movement.

The candidates for the top six positions on the Dlamini-Zuma slate are: David Mabuza (deputy president), Ace Magashule (secretary general), Jessie Duarte (deputy secretary general), Nathi Mthethwa (chairperson) and Maite Nkoana-Mashabane (treasurer-general).

But now as ANC leader, Ramaphosa is likely to become the country's next president after elections in 2019.

With 4,708 votes cast, Mr Ramaphosa took 51.8% of the vote against 48.2% for his opponent.

Ramaphosa, a union leader-turned-businessman and one of South Africa's richest people, is now in line to succeed President Jacob Zuma, whose reign has been plagued by corruption scandals, economic slowdown and growing anger at the once-omnipotent party.

In a boost to Ramaphosa, courts ruled that officials from some provinces seen as supporting Dlamini-Zuma had been elected illegally and were barred from the conference.

Mr. Ramaphosa's victory amounts to a victory for reformers in the A.N.C., which wants to root out corruption and woo back foreign investors. He was the favoured candidate of investors, business leaders, labour unionists and the ANC's communist party allies.

He has pledged to introduce a minimum wage for workers and will consider privatising some of South Africa's state-owned conglomerates. "The markets favour Ramaphosa and expect him to improve the economy".

Hundreds of attendees were banned from the poll, raising the possibility that supporters of Dlamini-Zuma, a former minister who is Zuma's ex-wife, could launch legal appeals against the result.

"It stretches credibility to imagine that Ramaphosa could win the ANC leadership without striking deals with key power brokers who seek to maintain a patronage-based political system".

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