Zuma South Africa's President-elect
6 May 2009
African National Congress (ANC) leader Jacob Zuma is President-elect of South Africa, and will take over from Kgalema Motlanthe as President after his inauguration in Pretoria on Saturday.
The 400 members of South Africa's National Assembly elected Zuma as the new President of the Republic following a secret ballot in Cape Town on Wednesday, after Zuma and the Congress of the People's (Cope's) Mvume Dandala were nominated for the position.
Zuma received 277 votes to Dandala's 47. Three votes were spoilt, while the Democratic Alliance (DA), South Africa's main opposition party with 67 seats in the National Assembly, abstained from the vote.
Zuma will remain President-elect until he is sworn in on Saturday at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. Kgalema Motlanthe will remain President of the Republic until then.
The term of office of the outgoing Cabinet will also come to an end on Saturday, with Zuma expected to announce his new Cabinet by Sunday.
The newly appointed Cabinet members will be sworn in as ministers and deputy ministers in Pretoria on Monday.
Meanwhile, the government says the preparations for Zuma's inauguration as President are well advanced, with about 5 000 dignitaries expected to attend the ceremony.
In all, around 30 000 people are expected to witness the inauguration from the lawns of the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
Source: BuaNews
