President Jacob Zuma has been re-elected as leader of South Africa’s governing political party the African National Congress ANC.
Mangaung / NationalTurk – He received an overwhelming majority of votes cast of 2,986 votes out of the 3,977 cast – making it a decisive victory against his rival,of the delegates at the party’s Mangaung conference.
Mr. Kgalema Motlanthe was the vice to president Zuma but decided to contest his superior in the leadership of the ANC which he said is part of the democratic credentials but lost miserably and has been replaced with anti-apartheid veteran Cyril Ramaphosa to become the vice to President Zuma.
President Zuma congratulated his supporters and party executives calling the victory as a confirmation of his leadership position in the society.
“We can boast that we’re a leader of our society, that therefore we have something to contribute to the democratic life of this country, to this democratic Republic of South Africa,” Mr. Zuma said after his win.
“We are certain that at this course in our democracy we are correct, that what we do at all material times, it is in the interest, not just of our organisation, but of our country and its people,” he added.
He also called for solid unity in the party since the election was a house battle and everybody must work hard to let the party stay in power in the 2014 general elections.
The ANC which has governed South Africa since white minority rule ended in 1994 is widely expected to win nationwide elections due in 2014 and therefore President Zuma is likely to remain president until 2019.
Bomb plot at the party conference
Meanwhile, 4 white men have appeared in court accused of being part of a right-wing extremist plot to bomb the ANC conference.
The men were arrested on Monday in raids across the country after police had a tip off of a bomb plot at the ANC conference venue.
One was apprehended by police at a guesthouse in Mangaung following the intelligence police picked in the city and subsequently arrested the other 3 in their hide out.
Report suggests that they are likely to face treason and terrorism charges if put on trial since it was an atrocity that should have bring South Africa and Africa to a stand still.
Issaka Adams / NationalTurk Africa News
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