South Africa ANC Election: Cyril Ramaphosa Wins Presidency

The African National Congress on Monday elected South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa as the party’s president. As the ANC (African National Congress) was gearing up for the election of the new party leadership, much intentional attention was on the ‘neck to neck’ fight between Ramaphosa and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. The election was considered by many as a ‘pivotal moment for the party’ since it launched black-majority rule under Nelson Mandela 23 years ago.

The election battle caused fierce political infighting that led to fears that the party may witness a split. Mr. Ramaphosa defeated Ms. Dlamini-Zuma by 2,440 votes to 2,261, an ANC spokesperson announced.

The 65 year old, Ramaphosa, an anti-apartheid leader and former trade unionist, was elected general secretary of the ANC in 1991, and in the years that followed was a key negotiator on behalf of the party during South Africa's transition to democracy.

Today, Ramaphosa, one of the South Africa's richest people, is ‘viewed as a promising president, one capable of recharging the economy by fusing government with the business community’. But critics argue that they are apprehensive if he will take any ‘radical initiative’ to deal with the high inequality that plagues the country. His rival, Dlamini-Zuma was considered to be a fierce campaigner against racial inequality in the country.

Dlamini-Zuma is the former cabinet minister and the ex-wife of President Jacob Zuma. While analysts claim that Zuma supported his wife's candidacy hoping that she would shield him from prosecution in a corruption case, Ramaphosa ran on the promise to stamp out corruption.

South African President Zuma’s tenure had been marred by massive corruption scandals. His close association with powerful Gupta business empire of South Africa, controlled by three brothers Atul, Ajay and Rajesh Gupta, has come under severe scrutiny.

Gupta’s arrived from India in the 1990s and set up a small computer business and now have become the one of the most powerful business group with stakes in uranium, gold and coal mines, a luxury game lodge, an engineering company, a newspaper and a 24-hour TV news station. According to critics, Gupta family has considerable influence in Zuma’s government leading to the allegations of ‘state capture’.

Though Zuma has thwarted attempts to annul his leadership role in the ANC over graft allegations, Ramaphosa's victory may see his ouster.

Meanwhile, Ramaphosa’s reputation has been dented in recent years, mainly over his connection to the Marikana massacre in 2012.  Around 34 striking miners were killed and 78 were injured in police firing. Many compared this massacre to the Sharpeville massacre in 1960.

At the time, Ramaphosa - who was a shareholder and director at Lonmin, the company that owned the platinum mine - had called for stronger police action against the miners.