ANC to lead S Africa govt

PRETORIA: South Africa’s ruling ANC geared on Saturday for its sixth straight term in power in the post-apartheid era but its worst ever electoral showing could hamper efforts to revive the flagging economy and fight graft.Provisional results, due to be confirmed later on Saturday, show that voters on Wednesday gave the ANC its smallest mandate since 1994, when Nelson Mandela led it to victory in the first multi-racial polls.The party has been battling corruption scandals, sluggish economic growth and record unemployment -- all issues its new leader, President Cyril Ramaphosa has promised to tackle.Businessman Ramaphosa, 66, took over last year when the ANC compelled then-president Jacob Zuma to resign after nine years dominated by graft allegations and economic decline.Official results showed the African National Congress (ANC) holding a comfortable lead with 57.5 percent -- a huge dip from almost 70 percent in 2004 and 62 percent in 2014.Its closest rival, the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), trailed at a distant 20.78 percent.

from The News International - World http://bit.ly/2WBPPUB

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