African National Congress (ANC) deputy president Jacob Zuma has officially accepted the nomination to run for the leadership of the ruling party, the South African Broadcasting Corporation said on Monday.
Zuma has taken the lead in the leadership race against President Thabo Mbeki, who said at the weekend he did not rule out an early parliamentary election if he lost his position at the helm of the ANC at a party conference on December 16 to 20.
”[Zuma] is now officially running for the presidency of the party. He has accepted his nomination for the position by signing the nomination form,” the SABC said, citing unnamed sources.
It said Zuma signed the document in London, where he is on a private visit.
ANC officials were not immediately available for comment on Monday.
If Zuma wins the December 16 to 20 contest, he is almost certain to become South Africa’s next president in elections due in 2009.
Last weekend, five of the nation’s nine provinces rallied behind Zuma, leaving Mbeki — who is seeking a third term as party president — with four.
Zuma also garnered support from the youth and women leagues, giving him a wide margin of votes over the president in nominations.
Lame duck president?
In an interview with the Sunday Independent, Mbeki rejected suggestions that he would be a lame duck president if Zuma won the ANC contest, saying current ANC policies would continue.
Analysts say Mbeki, who is barred by the Constitution from a third term as president, wants to remain head of the ANC to influence the country’s politics and help pick his successor.
The analysts say investors are worried that Zuma’s close links with left-leaning unions could steer him away from market-friendly policies.
In the ANC’s weekly newsletter, ANC Today, Mbeki last week spoke for the first time about Zuma’s ambitions to become president and the qualities needed to lead the ruling party, which traditionally frowns on formal campaigning.
His recent renunciations of tribalism, populism and opportunism were bound to be interpreted as an attack on Zuma, said Mbeki, while insisting they were not.
Zuma was dismissed by Mbeki as deputy head of state in 2005 after his financial adviser was jailed for fraud.
He kept his job as ANC deputy leader, but risks being charged with corruption himself after losing an appeal against the legality of a series of search warrants.
”Whatever the circumstances inside and outside its ranks, at any particular moment, the ANC must defend its principles and values, without any hesitation or equivocation,” wrote Mbeki. – Reuters