South Africa’s Parliament elects Ramaphosa
Biggest hurdle is to fight corruption
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Cyril Ramaphosa became South Africa’s president with a message of clean government and inclusiveness on Thursday, stirring the hopes of many South Africans that he can reverse a corrosive period of decline and division under his predecessor, Jacob Zuma.
Mr. Ramaphosa, a lead negotiator in the transition from apartheid to democracy in the early 1990s, was elected by jubilant ruling party legislators anxious to shed political limbo and get the leadership of the country back on track.
In an indication of the challenges facing Mr. Ramaphosa, the two main opposition parties did not participate in the National Assembly vote, arguing it was a sham process because the ruling African National Congress party was tainted by its association with corruption scandals during the Zuma era.
Even so, the 65-year-old Mr. Ramaphosa delivered a measured, conciliatory speech to lawmakers in a chamber that had been the scene of heckling and sometimes scuffles during appearances by Mr. Zuma, who resigned late Wednesday after protracted discussionswith ANC leaders who told him to step down or face a parliamentary motion of no confidence.
“I will try very hard not to disappoint the people of South Africa,” Mr. Ramaphosa said soon after he was nominated as an unopposed presidential candidate and elected by his party. He said the issue of corruption and mismanagement is on “our radar screen” and that one of his first aims is to meet rival party leaders so that “we can try and find a way of working together.”
Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng presided over the parliamentary election as well as a separate swearingin ceremony for Mr. Ramaphosa, who had been Mr. Zuma’sdeputy and in December was narrowly elected leaderof the ruling party over Mr. Zuma’s ex-wife, NkosazanaDlamini-Zuma.
While Mr. Ramaphosa has consolidated his control of the ANC in recent weeks, he still faces the delicate task of removing compromised figures from the old administration as part of his anti-corruption drive while trying to avoid alienating ruling party factions that could try to undercut him. He must also restore the reputation of the ANC, which fought apartheid and has been in power since Nelson Mandela was elected South Africa’s first black president in the first all-race elections in 1994.
The party’s popularity fell as anger over corruption allegations grew, and it suffered its worst showing at the polls in municipal elections in 2016. Investor jitters over the political situation contributed to sluggish economic growth, compounding generational problems of poverty and economic inequity that will put early pressure on Mr. Ramaphosa’s administration.
Still, the South African rand strengthened Thursday to its highest level against the dollar in several years amid a sense that the new president represents stability and transparency lacking under his predecessor.
The country’s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, will work with Mr. Ramaphosa if he acts in the interests of the South African people, said party leader Mmusi Maimane.
South African authorities, meanwhile, said they were seeking to arrest a key member of the Gupta business family accused of securing state contracts by using its links to Mr. Zuma when he was president. Ajay Gupta is considered to be a fugitive after he failed to turn himself in, police told South African media.