South Africa’s ruling ANC party elects Cyril Ramaphosa to be its next leader

Muntu Vilakazi | Foto24 | Gallo Images | Getty Images

President Jacob Zuma and his deputy Cyril Ramaphosa during the African National Congress’ policy conference on July 1, 2017, in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has won the leadership of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress in a tightly fought contest.

Ramaphosa beat Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (NDZ), a former cabinet minister and current President Jacob Zuma’s ex-wife, to the role.

The win by Ramaphosa is seen as a major upset for Zuma and the new ANC leader will contest the presidency in South Africa’s next general election, scheduled for 2019. Thus, Ramaphosa has a strong chance of being the next South African president.

Ramaphosa is a businessman and former trade union leader, and also one of South Africa’s richest men. He is viewed positively by investors and markets for his potential as a reformer, though NDZ had promised “radical economic transformation.”

The vote was tightly run, with a result initially expected Sunday morning. The country’s sovereign dollar bonds extended their gains after the result as announced at 5.00 p.m. London time Monday. The rand continued to strengthen against the dollar and had tracked higher for much of the afternoon.