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Jacob Zuma in action at an election rally.
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SA Election 2009 Special Report
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ANC holding key NEC meeting
The ANC is holding its quarterly NEC meeting, to discuss the outcome of the elections and how to implement its election manifesto.
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Cabinet to tackle Zuma pledges
Analysts say the new Cabinet matches President Jacob Zuma's pledges to smash poverty and boost development, but enormous challenges remain.
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Pretoria - ANC chief Jacob Zuma on Thursday looked assured of the presidency, but he now has to deliver on heightened expectations from South Africa's poor as the economy slides into recession, analysts said.
"There are expectations among ordinary people. Their view is that a Zuma presidency will finally deliver on the promise of a better life for all," said political analyst Aubrey Matshiqi.
Zuma seized control of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in late 2007 with strong support from the party's leftist allies in the trade unions and the communist party.
He campaigned on pro-poor policies to improve public services like schools and health care, while creating jobs, fighting an alarming crime rate, and developing South Africa's impoverished rural areas - policies that appear to have resonated with voters.
A record 23 million people registered to vote, early estimates put the turnout at 77%, and the ANC looks certain to take at least 60% of the vote.
"His first duty will be to deliver on some of his promises, but he is faced with a major challenge" in the global economic crisis, said Sanlam Group economist Jac Laubscher.
That has raised concerns that Zuma could veer from the orthodox economic policies that have led South Africa through its longest-ever period of sustained growth, just as the economy is heading toward recession.
The International Monetary Fund expects the economy to contract by 0.3% due to falling commodity prices and foreign investment.
Investors unfazed
The slowdown has already resulted in layoffs in the crucial mining industry - job losses South Africa can hardly afford when 40% of the labour force is believed to be without work.
So far investors seem unfazed. The rand is up more than one percent since polls closed on Wednesday, one of the few emerging market currencies to post gains early on Thursday.
Laubscher said Zuma's cabinet line-up could have a greater effect on markets than his victory, which was widely expected.
"What is more important to the market is the announcement of the new cabinet. This will give investors some sort of a conclusion on whether policy is likely to change," Laubscher said.
The lynchpin of South Africa's economic policy is Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, who has held the post since 1996 and has already indicated his readiness to remain in cabinet.
The ANC put him at number four on its party list for the elections, an indication of his prominent role and essentially a guarantee of a cabinet post in the new government.
That would reassure investors of continuity from former president Thabo Mbeki, whose policies were credited with boosting the economy, but left many of South Africa's poor feeling locked out of the boom.
After Zuma came out on top in his long power struggle with Mbeki, markets were rattled by fears that Manuel could leave when the ANC sacked the former president in September.
But Manuel has repeatedly reassured investors, telling the Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore on the eve of the elections that economic policies would remain "rational" under Zuma.
"I know he is a man of great capacity, who loves to succeed and won't push himself and South Africa into failure," he said.
Manuel said any policy changes were still an "open question", but added: "It is very important for South Africa not to isolate itself. Our economy won't become ideological, it will stay rational."
- AFP
