South African President Cyril Ramaphosa appears increasingly likely to retain his position as head of the ruling African National Congress in December as his allies continue to win control of key party structures.
The northern Limpopo province on Saturday reelected Stan Mathabatha as its chairman, a post he has held for a decade. Mathabatha has said he favors Ramaphosa getting a second term — a position echoed by Dickson Masemola, who also vied for the top regional post.
Ramaphosa’s backers have won clean sweeps in recent leadership contests in the Mpumalanga and East Cape provinces. Opinion polls show the president is far more popular than the ANC, which has ruled the country since the end of apartheid in 1994, but is in danger of losing its national majority in a 2024 vote as discontent mounts over rampant unemployment, rising living costs and slipshod government services.
