Who To Elect?

“Blurry” is a term politicians hope the public will never use to describe them – at least that is what they are supposed to hope. It is certainly a struggle no matter the century or location. Some politicians simply have a better understanding of the definition for “transparency” than others. At the moment the ANC appears to be struggling with this exact word and what it might mean. At the recent ANC policy conference held outside Johannesburg this was all to obvious: at the opening of the conference many exhuberant delegates were waving flags and chanting in favour of the party’s number two, Jacob Zuma. However at the end everybody seemed to be back on-message and singing the praises for Thabo Mbeki.

The biggest issue is the upcoming ANC election in December when a new leader must be chosen – this person will most likely become president as well – making the fight for the leadership all the more relevant to all South Africans and the region. At this moment it seems likely that current president Mbeki will run for a third term as party leader, effectively blocking his greatest rival, Zuma, from becoming president of South Africa. Zuma, who was recently acquitted from a rape charge, has many sympathisers within the ANC who feel he has been wrongfully accused because Mbeki felt threatened by him. Nevertheless, Zuma’s financial advisor has been convicted for fraud and he himself could still face corruption charges…blurry.

President Mbeki is still popular, but his two terms in office have been characterized by attempts to centralize much power in the president’s office and away from the party. His quiet, backroom diplomacy has failed to bring political change to Zimbabwe, even though Mbeki has been promoting South Africa as the “superpower” in the Sub-Saharan region. His unwillingness to take a tougher stance on Zimbabwe’s leadership and his refusal to acknowledge the severity of the HIV/AIDS situation in his country during his first term have caused him to lose much of his popular base…blurry.

Despite these two frontline candidates stabbing each other in the back while smiling at the cameras, other candidates – unencumbered by blurriness – might yet emerge: Tokyo Sexwale, a former political prisoner on Robben Island turned prominent business man saidhe would run if asked; but he has probably been out of the party’s top leadership for too long to have a chance. Cyril Ramaphosa is another possibility. A former trade unionist with strong international ties, he still occupies a place in the ANC’s leadership. He has not made any noise regarding the candidacy however and people wonder if he would really wants the job. Finally, Kgalema Motlanthe, the ANC’s secretary-general, could become a compromise candidate. With the trade unions, the communist party and other opposition parties all questioning the ANC’s current leader’s sincerity for a democratic South Africa, perhaps it is time to hope for a radical change in leadership for the African National Congress.