South Africa’s governing African National Congress in the Gauteng province, the nation’s economic hub, elected new leaders on Sunday who face the daunting task of shoring up the party’s flagging support ahead of 2024 elections.
Provincial minister of education Panyaza Lesufi was elected as the party’s regional chairman, securing 575 votes, while provincial minister of co-operative governance Lebogang Maile got 543. The province is expected to back President Cyril Ramaphosa for a second term as the ANC’s national leader at a conference in December and endorse Paul Mashatile, the party’s incumbent treasurer-general and its former chairman in Gauteng, as his No. 2.
