South African Parliament to affirm president

JOHANNESBURG (Prensa Latina) The South African Parliament is expected to choose Jacob Zuma as the new South African President for the next five years, Wednesday. With 65.9 percent of the deputies of the South African National Assembly supporting him, it is anticipated that the African National Congress will elect Zuma, 67 years old and now head of the ANC.

The ANC clearly won the general elections on April 22, beating the Democratic Alliance and the Congress of the People (COPE), which had 16.6 percent and 7.6 percent of the vote respectively.

The ceremony will take place in Pretoria. Jacob Zuma promised during his electoral campaign to create a public health system using his presidential mandate, as well as to fight crime and find ways to soften the effects of the world financial crisis.

After 17 years of growth, the South African economy has entered into recession, while crime and diseases such as AIDS, are effecting people throughout the country.