African National Congress (ANC) deputy president Zuma was named as the preferred presidential candidate of the Mpumalanga ANC general council, South African Broadcasting Corporation radio news reported on Friday.
Zuma polled 263 votes — compared with ANC president Thabo Mbeki’s 37 and Cyril Ramaphosa’s five — at a council meeting held at Waterval Boven on Friday.
The ANC Youth League (ANCYL) has also thrown its weight behind Zuma for president of the party, with 34 out of 38 regions nominating him, and only two nominating Mbeki, the league announced in Johannesburg on Friday.
”We didn’t support him [Mbeki] for president of the ANC. We believe as a past president of the ANC he has a special role to play,” said ANCYL president Fikile Mbalula. ”It is not a position that we are eradicating him. We believe he has played his role. He has got nothing to lose, nothing to win; he has nothing to prove. We believe he must give others a chance — one leader at a time.”
After Zuma on the list, the ANCYL has nominated ANC secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe for deputy president, Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma for national chairperson, Gwede Mantashe for secretary general, Baleka Mbete for deputy secretary general and Mathews Phosa for treasurer. — Sapa