This Article is From Apr 25, 2009

Zuma set for presidency in South Africa

Zuma set for presidency in South Africa

AP image

Pretoria: South Africa's ruling ANC won an absolute majority in general polls on Saturday, with president-in-waiting Jacob Zuma facing huge expectations from the poor in a flailing economy.

With 99 per cent of votes from Wednesday's election tallied, unofficial figures released by the electoral commission showed the African National Congress had won over 11.6 million votes, more than half of the nation's 23 million registered voters.

While the ANC fell just short of two-thirds of the vote with 66.03 per cent, the way was clear for the party to elect the popular but controversial Zuma as the new head of state in a parliamentary vote in early May.

Official results were set to be confirmed later on Saturday. Thousands of supporters celebrated as the final votes were counted, packing into an exhibition centre on the outskirts of Soweto where party heavyweights vowed to follow through on campaign promises to boost the lot of the nation's weak and vulnerable.

"Immediately after the counting finishes, the real work starts. We must all roll (up) our sleeves and start working," said Paul Mashatile, premier of Gauteng, the country's economic hub that includes Johannesburg.

"Those who live in shacks or have no jobs want us to work for them. We must deliver," he added.

Groups of people in "Vote Zuma" T-shirts sang in Zulu, "We are taking Zuma to Pretoria."
.