SOUTH AFRICA:Senior officials in South Africa's ruling party met behind closed doors yesterday as they tried to stave off a leadership crisis that threatens to destabilise the government.
The African National Congress (ANC) postponed voting for 24 hours on the leadership race between the country's president, Thabo Mbeki, and the party's deputy president and former deputy president of the country, Jacob Zuma, as the party comes to terms with an unprecedented rift in its membership.
Voting is now expected today at what remains a highly charged selection convention, with accusations circulating of vote-rigging and dirty tricks.
Delegates who gathered for the five-day conference in Polokwane, Limpopo, were ordered yesterday to hand in all clothing and placards of a campaigning nature in an attempt to bring order.
The ANC Youth League, one of Mr Zuma's most vocal backers, told its members to conduct themselves in a disciplined fashion.
This follows Sunday's unprecedented scenes when cabinet ministers were booed and officials shouted down by the deputy president's supporters.
The ANC, the anti-apartheid movement once banned in South Africa, has not had a public leadership contest in 55 years. Some senior officials believe this week's contest may tear the party apart, with serious implications for governance in South Africa.
Feelings were still running high yesterday with supporters of Mr Mbeki accusing their rivals of humiliating the president by greeting the end of his address on Sunday with calls for Mr Zuma to be elected. Deputy defence minister Mluleki George said: "What we saw yesterday is a clear indication that we must save the organisation. We must stop this anarchy."
Gaopalelwe Kock, a councillor from Northern Cape and supporter of the president, added: "Thabo will win. The prophets of doom have got it wrong. Zuma's supporters are making a lot of noise but they do so because they are not sure of themselves."
Few analysts share his confidence, however, with opinion polls pointing to a resounding victory for Mr Zuma, whom Mr Mbeki sacked from government over bribery allegations two years ago. He has since successfully fought off separate corruption and rape charges but faces arrest in the coming months as part of a state-sponsored graft investigation. Mr Zuma has said that, if elected party leader, he would not step down if and when he was charged with corruption. This has generated heightened fears within certain sections of the party that he will damage the reputation of the ANC, if not South Africa, if elected.
Victory would mean he would be strongly placed to become the country's next president in 2009.
Mr Zuma has called for Aids and crime to be declared "national emergencies", and has also signalled he will take a stronger stance on Zimbabwe than Mr Mbeki.
The latter replaced Nelson Mandela as president of the ANC in 1997. His support has waned in recent years because of his perceived authoritarian leadership style, and his ostracising of left-wing elements of the ANC and its allied trade union and communist groups.
"If Thabo is elected for a third term it may give a negative impression around the world," said Tumiso Nkutulane, chairman of one of the ANC's Johannesburg branches.