Buildup
The buildup to the 52nd conference saw an unprecedented rivalry for the presidency of the ANC between Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma. Mbeki, required by the country's constitution to relinquish the country's presidency at the end of his second term in 2009, nonetheless chose to stand for a third term as party president, as the ANC has no limit on the number of terms as party president. Zuma, the party's deputy president, had been deputy president of the country until his dismissal by Mbeki in June 2005 following allegations of corruption. Zuma campaigned against Mbeki for the party's presidency in the run-up to the 2007 conference. From that position he would be in a very strong position to become the country's next president in 2009.
Most ANC leaders initially claimed that no campaigns were underway for the party presidency, and that the party was united. By the start of the conference, however, it was clear that the party was deeply divided into Mbeki and Zuma camps. Media interest in the campaign was high, and given the controversies around Zuma, there was initially talk of "compromise candidates", with the names of Tokyo Sexwale and Cyril Ramaphosa mentioned, but ultimately none was forthcoming.
In June 2007, the ANC held its first National Policy Conference, a precursor meeting of various party officials and experts, to formulate future ANC policy.
Read more about this topic: 52nd National Conference Of The African National Congress
Famous quotes containing the word buildup:
“I think those Southern writers [William Faulkner, Carson McCullers] have analyzed very carefully the buildup in the South of a special consciousness brought about by the self- condemnation resulting from slavery, the humiliation following the War Between the States and the hope, sometimes expressed timidly, for redemption.”
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