By DPA
Polokwane (South Africa) : A leadership conference of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) that could oust President Thabo Mbeki after 10 years as the party head got underway Sunday in the northern town of Polokwane.
Mbeki, 65, headed into the conference as the underdog in a bitter race against ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma, the 65-year-old Zulu politician who took nearly two-thirds of the votes at the party nominations level.
Security was tight around the University of Limpopo outside Polokwane town, where around 4,000 ANC delegates and hundreds of journalists and diplomats gathered for the five-day conference that will also discuss party policy.
It is the first time since 1949 that two candidates have gone head to head for the leadership. ANC leaders are usually chosen by the party elders and their choice presented as a fait accompli to the party.
Mbeki is attempting to continue as party leader even though the constitution bars him from seeking a third term as president in 2009 elections. If elected party chief, his deputy Jacob Zuma is likely to become the next president.
Even if Zuma is elected ANC leader, he still faces the prospect of having to bow out of the presidential race if charged with corruption in relation to a state arms deal. The first case against him was thrown out of court in 2005, but prosecutors are mounting a fresh case.
“U Zuma, mufunu Zuma,” (Zuma, we want Zuma,), groups of Zuma supporters chanted as they danced through the entrance of the university Saturday.
The leadership race has been characterized by a barrage of negative campaigning, unprecedented in ANC circles.
Mbeki has urged ANC members not to vote for “criminals and rapists” in what was taken as a reference to Zuma. In 2005, Zuma was acquitted of raping a family friend.
Zuma supporters have denigrated the government’s push for greater gender equity as “womanising” and its official propaganda as akin to that of Nazi Germany.
Mbeki’s centrist economic policies, credited with ushering in a decade of sustained growth, have been slammed by Zuma’s left-wing supporters for failing to significantly dent poverty and unemployment. They have also accused him of centralizing power in the presidency.
Delegates at the conference will elect a six-member leadership and a National Executive Committee of 66 members.
They will also discuss policy matters, including land reforms, the structure of the police and the establishment of a media tribunal.
The name of the new president is expected to be known by Monday after a vote by secret ballot.