President Jacob Zuma won a landslide victory to retain his post as head of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress party after successfully seeing off a leadership challenge from his deputy, Kgalema Motlanthe.

With this result Mr. Zuma is almost certain to lead the ANC into 2014 national elections and probably to go on to govern Africa’s largest and most developed economy for a second five-year term given the party’s dominance of South African politics. He garnered 2,983 votes, while Mr. Motlanthe won 991. Cyril Ramaphosa, the former union leader and multimillionaire businessman, was elected as the liberation movement’s deputy by a similarly wide margin, making him a frontrunner to take over from Mr. Zuma once the 70-year-old steps down from the national presidency.

The ANC leadership election took place at the party’s five-yearly congress against a backdrop of complaints about bitter factionalism, patronage and corruption in the 100-year-old movement, with commentators describing it as a party in crisis.

AEP