ELECTORAL CONFERENCE
Factionalism a boon to Cyril Ramaphosa in bid for top ANC position
Ramaphosa still faces major obstacles, but has become a beneficiary of the politics of ‘hard factionalism’, writes Anthony Butler
Cyril Ramaphosa’s campaign to secure the ANC presidency in December has moved into higher gear. He still faces major obstacles to success including an incumbent Zuma faction that has strong support in rural areas, the likelihood of electoral manipulation and the lack of a personal power base. But a series of countervailing factors mean Ramaphosa’s challenge has become more than credible. He may not be young, but he is modern. The KwaZulu-Natal block vote that cemented Jacob Zuma’s dominance has fractured. Ramaphosa’s candidacy has been energetically promoted in the province of his birth, Gauteng, and in Limpopo, where he has family roots. The electoral arithmetic no longer clearly favours the "premier league" provinces — Mpumalanga, North West and Free State. Figures released at the ANC’s national general council in 2015 indicate the provinces have a membership of 230,000, barely more than the three Cape provinces, where there is strong anti-Zuma sentiment. Two potentially Ramaphosa...
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