|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The election is perhaps the most pivotal moment for the ANC in its 23 years of power. Scandal and graft accusations have tainted Zuma’s presidency and the party that launched black majority rule under Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nelson Mandela is now deeply divided, its image tarnished at home and abroad.
Ramaphosa drew the majority of nominations from party branches scattered across the country. But the complexity of the leadership race means it is far from certain he will win when the votes are finally counted.
Owing to the delays, the final result is now expected only on Monday. “We hope to start voting at some point later this afternoon and have those results, as it now stands, possibly by tomorrow morning,” ANC Deputy Secretary General Jessie Duarte.
“We don’t rush results; we would like them to do a thorough and proper job.”
ANC spokeswoman Khusela Sangoni said the party had completed vetting the eligibility of roughly 6,000 delegates to decide who would take part in the voting.
The ANC said 4,776 delegates of the more than 6,000 attending the conference would be allowed to vote in the tight race. “Credentials are the make and break of the conference,” she said.
