Zuma’s term as South Africa’s head of state ends in 2019. It is not clear if Ramaphosa as the ANC’s new leader will call on Zuma to resign as the country’s president, which the party has the authority to do
The ANC, which marked its 105th anniversary this year, fought to end apartheid and has dominated the political landscape since then. But it has been paralyzed by internal fighting and is losing support among voters who are frustrated that it has failed to deliver on the promise of a post-apartheid government. In recent local government elections, the ANC lost control of Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest city, and Pretoria, the capital.
Though Ramaphosa has been part of Zuma’s administration, he has managed to steer clear of the corruption allegations that have dogged many of his colleagues and create enough distance from himself and the besmirched Zuma to not be perceived as part of the problem.
“This will be a confidence bounce, not just among markets, but among ordinary people,” says William Gumede, executive chairman of Democracy Works Foundation.
Ramaphosa is a veteran of the struggle to end South Africa’s former apartheid system of white minority rule and he was a key negotiator who helped the country transition to democracy.
He turned his connections as a former union leader into business ventures that at times have proven controversial. Many South Africans remember that Ramaphosa was a board member of the Lonmin mining group at the time of the Marikana killings in 2012, when police shot dead 34 striking mine workers.
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