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Ramaphosa Faces Moment of Truth as South Africa Counts Votes

Opinion polls show ANC should win sixth straight election
At stake is Ramaphosa’s grip over divided ruling party

South Africa's Ramaphosa Tries to Solidify Power in Election

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By Gordon Bell and Londell Phumi Ramalepe

May 8, 2019 at 7:08 PM UTC

Updated on

May 9, 2019 at 6:11 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

South Africa started counting votes after an election that puts President Cyril Ramaphosa’s tenuous grip over his party to the test and hopes of reviving a flagging economy at stake.

While opinion polls all point to a sixth outright national election win for the African National Congress, the margin of victory will be crucial for Ramaphosa after he scraped through a party leadership vote in December 2017. With about 14% of ballots counted by 7:52 a.m. in Pretoria on Thursday, the ANC had secured 54.8%. The final outcome is expected by Saturday.