Strong Zuma Supporters Said to Be on Ex-Wife's Leadership Ticket

(Bloomberg) -- Strong supporters of South African President Jacob Zuma are on a provisional list of people who would run for the top positions at the African National Congress’s leadership conference in December on the ticket of his former wife, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, according to two people familiar with the matter.

A proposed list drawn up at a meeting late Monday includes David Mabuza, the premier of Mpumalanga province, as the choice of ANC deputy president, and Ace Magashule, the head of Free State province, as the party secretary-general, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter. Jessie Duarte is listed as a candidate for her current position, deputy secretary-general, along with Andile Lungisa, a former ANC youth league deputy president.

Dlamini-Zuma, the 68-year-old former chairwoman of the African Union Commission, is a front-runner for the position of ANC president along with Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.

She has echoed Zuma’s calls for “radical economic transformation” to address racially based income disparities that date back to apartheid rule, while Ramaphosa, 64, has emphasized the need to stamp out corruption and foster inclusive economic growth.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sam Mkokeli in Johannesburg at mmkokeli@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Karl Maier at kmaier2@bloomberg.net, Karl Maier, Antony Sguazzin