JOHANNESBURG, (Reuters) – ANC leader Jacob Zuma, boosted by the support of Nelson Mandela at a final election rally, dismissed accusations his ruling party planned to change South Africa’s constitution and appealed for national unity.
The ANC is almost certain to win the national and provincial elections on April 22 but faces its biggest challenge since coming to power when apartheid ended in 1994. Zuma told tens of thousands of supporters who packed two sports stadiums in Johannesburg that the ruling party had used its parliamentary majority responsibly.
“In 15 years that the ANC has been in power, the ANC has never used its electoral mandate to change the constitution and it has no intention of doing so,” he said.
The official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) and F.W. de Klerk, South Africa’s last white president, have said the ANC will abuse its power and planned to change the constitution.
Their criticism centres on cabinet’s approval of a draft bill that would give the government wide powers to intervene at local authority level.
Mandela, 90, endorsed the ANC in a pre-recorded message after entering the stadium in a golf cart.
The former president, who led South Africa out of apartheid and fostered reconciliation, has steered clear of politics and the power struggles that have hurt the ANC over recent years.
