Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa, was re-elected as the head of the African National Congress (ANC) party despite being embroiled in scandal and receiving calls to resign.
At a Monday ANC leadership convention, delegates chose Ramaphosa over his competitor, former Health Minister Zweli Mkhize, by a margin of 2,476 votes to 1,897.
As the results were announced in Johannesburg, the president’s supporters erupted in cheers in approval of the outcome.
The vote gives Ramaphosa a much-needed triumph. After a legislative study claimed that he may have broken anti-corruption legislation by storing substantial amounts of cash undeclared at his farm and failing to report their theft, he recently avoided being impeached.
Ramaphosa’s victory makes it possible for him to seek for president again in 2024.
With devastating power outages lasting longer than seven hours per day, a 35 percent unemployment rate, and claims of pervasive corruption, Ramaphosa and the newly elected ANC leadership face several difficulties.
At the conference’s opening on Friday, Ramaphosa acknowledged that his government was partially to blame for the electrical issue. He pledged that during the following several years, his government will increase its purchases of renewable energy to ensure an adequate supply of electricity.
In addition, Ramaphosa promised that his administration will keep up the battle against corruption despite the fact that he was personally involved in one.
In the party election, he ran against a challenger whose standing has also suffered. Mkhize resigned from his position as minister of health last year due to a scandal in which it was discovered that his family had benefited from a government contract.
Ramaphosa did manage to more than increase his margin of victory from the extremely thin margin despite the fact that the contest was closer than anticipated.
In the meantime, two of Ramaphosa’s top cabinet critics were firmly benched.
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the minister of cooperative affairs who last week voted in favour of impeachment proceedings in parliament, turned down a nomination to run for ANC president. At the conference, the minister of tourism, Lindiwe Sisulu, seemed by herself.
Despite Ramaphosa’s victory, the ANC is still quite split. Nearly half of the party is opposed to Ramaphosa and his anti-corruption campaign, and Jacob Zuma is its leader. The leader of that group in the public eye is now Mkhize.
Oscar Mabuyane, who was unsuccessful in his bid to become the ANC’s vice president, expressed his satisfaction with Ramaphosa’s triumph.
“This win is not only for the ANC perspective or a faction. It is for the country,” Mabuyane told The Associated Press.
Mandilakhe Kondile, a delegate from Eastern Cape province, said Ramaphosa deserved another chance as the ANC’s leader.
“It is our strong belief that Ramaphosa was not given enough time to make meaningful changes,” Kondile said. “He has only led for five years. Now it is a second chance for him to deal with the issues facing South Africans and to unify the African National Congress.”
Ramaphosa’s deputy was selected by delegates to be Paul Mashatile, the departing treasurer general of the party. Gwede Mantashe was re-elected by the party as national chairman for another term.
Fikile Mbalula, the minister of transport, was chosen to serve as the party’s secretary general, and Nomvula Mokonyane and Maropene Ramokgopa will serve as his assistants.
Gwen Ramakgopa has been named the new party treasurer general.
