Cyril Ramaphosa Elected New Leader Of South Africa’s ANC

Cyril Ramaphosa has been elected as the new leader of South Africa’s governing African National Congress (ANC) and will succeed President Jacob Zuma as party leader.

The ANC announced on Monday that Ramaphosa a former trade union leader who later became a businessman and is now one of the richest people in South Africa, had defeated President Jacob Zuma’s preferred candidate, Dlamini-Zuma after a series of tense sessions at the party’s conference.

More than 4,700 delegates cast their ballot in a marathon voting session that began late on Sunday and continued until mid-morning on Monday.

Ramaphosa won 2,446 votes, to Dlamini-Zuma’s 2,261. His supporters hope will end an era of corruption scandals plaguing a party that has dominated politics since the end of apartheid.

The 65-year-old will most definitely run as presidential candidate when South Africa takes to the polls in 2019.