Word: ances
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Zuma, who portrays himself as an outsider, capitalized on that discontent to depose the previous leadership of the ANC and former President Thabo Mbeki. But not everyone is convinced. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, for one, says he will not vote ANC this time around, saying it has betrayed the hope of the Mandela years...
Finally, the ANC's support has steadily declined since the heady days of the early 1990s. This election is billed as the most open since the end of apartheid - and perhaps the first in which the party's victory is not guaranteed - and that competition has naturally raised interest...
...Africa that bleak? It depends on your time frame. Zuma's checkered career, the behavior of his supporters and the contrast to the iconic Mandela inevitably reflect poorly on him and his party. His victory in deposing Mbeki was first and foremost an internal factional victory and, outside that ANC constituency, his election will not be viewed so positively, either for South Africa or all Africa...
...Zuma may surprise. Previous ANC administrations have failed to deliver on fighting inequality, violent crime, HIV/AIDS and reining in Robert Mugabe in neighboring Zimbabwe, creating the opportunity for Zuma to do better. A lessening in ANC support would ultimately be good for the health of South African democracy, which has lacked a strong opposition since the end of apartheid. Finally, ANC Presidents are a creature of their party rather than the electorate, as Mbeki's removal showed. Should Zuma underperform and disappoint his supporters, he might expect the same fate - and before his official term...
...office in 1997, and ill health means he routinely declines all requests for interviews or comments these days. Mandela has occasionally - and often obliquely - chided his successors, particularly when the Mbeki-Zuma fight was at its height. But he has also made plain that his loyalty to the ANC remains unwavering, and during the latest campaign appeared twice with Zuma at election rallies, including a final mass rally at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg last Sunday...