Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

South Africa Election

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • South Africa Election

    There is another national election of interest, over at South Africa.

    Historically it has been of importance to the West because of the discovery of diamond and gold, the control of the sea trade route to Asia, and the rare place in Sub-Sahara Africa where the whites were happy to settle because of less severe tropical climate.

    Official Campaigning Ends Ahead of South Africa’s Election Wednesday

    20 Apr 2009 [VOA] Official campaigning ended Sunday ahead of South Africa's general election Wednesday after the ruling party and other opposition parties made last-ditch effort to woo voters. The ruling African National Congress (ANC) received a significant boost after former President Nelson Mandela made a surprised, unannounced appearance Sunday at the ANC's last rally.

    The opposition Congress of the People (COPE) said it was in the race to win and prevent the ANC from maintaining its two-thirds majority in parliament. Somadoda Fikeni is a political analyst. He tells reporter Peter Clottey that it is unclear whether any of the opposition parties could prevent the ANC from maintaining its two-thirds majority in parliament. ...

    Mandela served one term as the nation's president, from 1994 to 1999 shortly after he was released from jail after serving 27 and a half years. He handed over power to his chosen successor Thabo Mbeki to focus on fighting AIDS and supporting international peacemaking efforts.

    The ANC came under intense criticism after the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) dropped graft charges against the ruling party's presidential candidate Jacob Zuma. The opposition contends that the NPA caved in after enormous political pressure to drop the eight year old graft charges against Zuma. But the ANC sharply denies putting any pressure on the NPA. ...

  • #2
    The election is over. Jacob Zuma of Africa National Congress is elected President

    Zuma, South Africa's Next President, Now Must Prove Himself

    23 Apr Jacob Zuma's election as President of South Africa, all but assured as his party took a formidable lead in early results from this week's balloting, completes an extraordinary, triumphant comeback in which he overcame prosecutions for rape and corruption and finally toppled his predecessor, Thabo Mbeki. But in many ways, his difficulties are only just beginning.

    South Africa has the world's largest HIV/AIDS population, 5.3 million or 11% of all South Africans, according to official figures. It has the world's ninth highest murder rate, an average of 38.6 per 100,000 people in 2007-8.

    On its borders it has Zimbabwe, whose implosion it has undertaken to help reverse, not least because that collapse has added an estimated 500,000 refugees to South Africa's already stressed social system. And in the 15 years since the formal end of apartheid, social inequality and the number of South Africans living in poverty have actually grown — an umployment remains at a stubborn 21%.

    Managing AIDS, crime, Zimbabwe and an economy that is not lifting people out of poverty are the weightiest tasks facing South Africa's next president. So is he up to the job?

    Much is known about Zuma as a personality — he has six wives. His financial adviser was jailed for bribing him, he likes to sing, he grew up herding goats and completed just three years at school, but rose to prominence as an ANC guerrilla and intelligence chief, serving 10 years in prison with Nelson Mandela.

    Far less is known about Zuma as a political thinker. That appears to be a deliberate choice on the part of a leader who has consistently presented himself as a kind of executive cipher for policy decisions made by the ruling African National Congress (ANC). ....
    Last edited by Merlin; 24 Apr 09,, 00:11.

    Comment


    • #3
      Now for a really profound question of great import.

      Who is going to be first lady?:)

      Cheers

      Comment


      • #4
        Yes, Zuma is facing a dilemma. He has two wives, maybe more. But this is a problem only when he is outside the country.

        Jacob Zuma faces first lady dilemma

        ANC leader who looks set to be South Africa's next president may have to choose between his many wives

        23 Apr The voters appear to have made their choice abundantly clear in South Africa's election. Now the president-in-waiting, Jacob Zuma, must make a delicate diplomatic choice of his own: which of his wives will be the country's first lady?

        When Zuma attends events such as the G20, at which the Wags attracted much attention recently, there is likely to be only one seat allocated to his spouse alongside the likes of Michelle Obama, Sarah Brown and Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.

        Zuma once told a television interviewer: "There are plenty of politicians who have mistresses and children that they hide so as to pretend they're monogamous. I prefer to be open. I love my wives and I'm proud of my children." ...

        Comment


        • #5
          South African Election Jacob Zuma's wives

          Oh how little people outside of South Africa really know of the country since the end of Apartheid! (Not that they really knew much then.)

          Jacob Zuma's sex life
          This may appear chaotic to Western eyes. He actually has seven or eight 'wives' living and between 10 and 18 children from 6 of them. Technically he is divorced from Nkosizana-Dlamini, but that was a political 'divorce-of convenience' (She has been Foreign Minister for the last ten years). Two current are 'Official' wives in that they are formal unions. He has also paid Lobola (a dowry usually paid in cows) on others and fathered children from them--the way the system works is that the 'bride' has to produce children before being considered worthy of marriage. There are also numerous other long-term relationships some of which have produced children and plenty of well publicised short ones.
          JZ is a very active man for 67 and mindful of the charisma that virility bestows in traditional African culture amongst both Men and Women ( Bit like the Clinton effect) and the sign of wealth that affording so many women shows. One must also take into account the incredible promiscuity among sub-saharan African people (N.B AIDS at 40% of sexually active people).
          It is common for women cabinet ministers or senior political appointees married to other senior party figures to divorce on obtaining office to allow liasions as political alliances require.

          The Election
          Jacob Zuma was not elected President last month. He will be appointed such by his party--the ANC. The electoral system is a party system with no transferable votes. One votes for a party not a person. The Parties then nominate members of parliament from their Party list and the simple majority party appoints their party leader President. This means that so-called MPs have no constituencies and are responsible to their party, not the people. This gives the winning party leader/de facto President enormous powers of patronage (just like a tribal chief really) JZ was actually elected by just over 2000 votes out of 3000 odd by the ANC congress.
          The system is about as democratic as North Korea.

          Comment


          • #6
            Thanks for you elaboration of some of the points raised diodetriode. It does not matter how little people outside know about a particular country as this is a common phenomenon.

            About this election, it is good to know Nelson Mandela attended Zuma's final election rally to give his support, and Mbeki congratulated Zuma for his electon victory. Zuma now has the moral backing from two previous leaders to do his job well for the country.

            Mandela attends final ANC S.Africa election rally

            Mbeki congratulates Zuma
            .
            Last edited by Merlin; 03 May 09,, 03:26.

            Comment


            • #7
              Zuma's win

              Merlin
              Of course he got their blessing. For two good reasons---the ANC is still structured as a revolutionary liberation movement and unity is all important.
              Note that a lot of powerful and prominent people tried a breakaway party and have flopped because they broke the golden Bolshevik rule--no Splitting!
              Madiba certainly hasn't endorsed JZ in any way over the last three years and being now very old he won't be here long. As for Thabo, he's had the knife out for JZ for years, the corruption scandals were just the public excuse for kicking him out of the Deputy Presidency. JZ has had his revenge in round one--let's see if Thabo escapes his own corruption enquiry or looses that fabulous new house the taxpayer has paid for his retirement in round two.
              There's three problems now-- under Mbeki the crime, corruption and crookery has become horrendous. Trouble is JZs gang are even worse!
              Many of JZs younger supporters are still spouting the rhetoric of the 1970s, of transfer of wealth, nationalisation, anti-colonialism etc. With Zuma as leader the ANC has moved a long way to the left and the language of black racism is being freely used ( they call the new black middle class coconuts).
              We are also back to the fractious racial divides of the 90s. JZs power base is Zulu while the old guard and party appointed civil servants are predominately Xhosa-- wait for turf wars.
              Complicated ain't it?

              Comment


              • #8
                How is he going to tell the others:))

                Jacob Zuma faces first lady dilemma - Mail & Guardian Online: The smart news source

                Comment


                • #9
                  Having a number of wives is not illegal in S Africa. So why not let them take turn?

                  Anyway, it is reported that his first wife Sizakele will probably be the first lady. She is childless, still stays in his house, and faithfully looks after his many children by other women. But she may not be the women accompanying him on his duties and activities as she does not like them.

                  Comment

                  Working...
                  X