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South Africa vote

gb/pfd, AFP/ReutersApril 24, 2009

With over half the votes counted, Jacob Zuma's African National Congress holds a commanding lead in South Africa's general election and looks almost certain to hold onto its previous two-thirds majority.

https://p.dw.com/p/Hcyv
An ANC sticker on a woman's back
ANC supporters wear party colours at an ANC rally in JohannesburgImage: AP

The ANC has more than 67 percent of the vote, with ballots counted from more than half of the election districts. Final results are expected by Friday afternoon, but the outcome appears to be a foregone conclusion.

ANC supporters were already dancing in the streets to celebrate what appears to be an imminent victory for their candidate.

Controversy around Zuma did not sway voters

An ANC support wearing over-sized glasses makes a face at the camera during a ZUma rally in Johannesburg.
ANC supporters gathered for a Zuma speech in JohannesburgImage: AP

Despite the corruption charges that were dropped against Zuma just two weeks ago, the ANC was leading in provincial contests and gaining ground in Kwa-Zulu Natal, where it appears to have made a clean sweep of the former Inkatha Freedom Party stronghold.

The main opposition Democratic Alliance was at just under 16 percent, but looked set to grab a decisive victory in Western Cape Province, which includes Cape Town, for the first time ever.

The threat posed by the upstart ANC breakaway group, Congress of the People (COPE), appears to have fizzled out. The splinter party formed by supporters of former president and Zuma rival, Thabo Mbeki, was hovering at around eight percent.

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ANC supporters in Pretoria, South Africa

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ANC president and presidential candidate Jacob Zuma, center, reacts, before addressing supporters during an ANC rally in Johannesburg, South Africa, Sunday, April 19, 2009.

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