ANC's least-bad election option

With two months left before voting day, public attention is focusing on the three leaders whose parties will play major roles in reshaping South Africa's political landscape. Our reporters provide insights into ANC president Jacob Zuma, Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille and Economic Freedom Fighters boss Julius Malema

A few days before President Jacob Zuma addressed last week's presidential youth indaba, his minders grilled event organisers about reports of chaos relating to the registration process.

Still reeling from the booing at Nelson Mandela's memorial service at the FNB Stadium in December, Zuma's office was taking no chances.

His aides wanted guarantees from the organisers that there would be no indiscipline among delegates when the president spoke at the event.

With the elections two months away, Zuma's offices at Luthuli House and the Union Buildings have been careful not to send him anywhere where he might be embarrassed by a hostile audience.

As part of the ANC's election campaign, Zuma made an unannounced appearance at Johannesburg's busy Park Station early on Monday and was received with excitement by throngs of commuters.

The next day he was in Mahikeng, North West, where he spent time at a taxi rank before holding meetings with students. Here, too, Zuma was warmly welcomed.

But such careful planning did not help at the FNB Stadium on Wednesday night when soccer fans, upset by Bafana Bafana's 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Brazil, booed the president.

Popular as he might be with large sections of ANC voters across South Africa, Zuma clearly evokes antipathy among many. The controversy over the R215-million upgrade to his private Nkandla home, allegations of fraud and corruption and his polygamous lifestyle have alienated middle-class voters.

But the ANC appears to have taken a calculated risk, choosing Zuma as its presidential candidate even though it knows this will cost it some votes on May 7.

The party seems convinced that the losses will not be great enough to threaten its parliamentary majority.

As polarising as Zuma may be, no other political leader in the party commands as much popular support.

Removing him as presidential candidate, especially with so little time left before the polls, would risk discouraging potential ANC voters in constituencies such as KwaZulu-Natal, where Zuma remains popular.

The fervent crowds that gathered in the pouring rain at the Mahikeng taxi rank on Tuesday, waiting for Zuma to arrive, are among the voters the ANC does not want to lose.

In Mahikeng, it was vintage Zuma - obviously at home among the rank-and-file supporters of his party.

He trotted out his tried and tested campaign tricks, ending his impromptu address with a rendition of the old crowd favourite Mshini Wami (Bring Me My Machine Gun).

The song, which was his soundtrack as he fought for the presidency ahead of the 2009 elections, has been on the back burner since December 2012. It was replaced by his new favourite, Yinde Lendlela (The Long Road Ahead). His message to the crowd was also simple and straightforward. No long and boring prepared speeches here; he got straight to the point.

"Why waste your vote on some people who will never win an election ... rather give it to the ANC, which already knows how to govern," he said.

The message resonated with the crowd, judging by the ululations and clapping that followed.

It is also clear that, in his bid for a second term, Zuma has resorted to his old game of playing to the gallery - depending who the audience is.

When he addressed students at North-West University later that evening, he read a 40-minute speech that could best be described as a fusion of his state of the nation address and the ANC's manifesto.

In line with the ANC's "we have a good story to tell" theme for this year's election, he spent much time talking about the ANC government's successes since it took power in 1994.

The underlying theme of his message to the students - and clearly to all voters - is: "Forget about my flaws and the failings of my administration and focus on the ANC's successes over the past 20 years."

With opposition parties painting him as a bungling leader who has achieved little, Zuma has highlighted the ANC's achievements since Mandela became president in 1994 during this election campaign.

At every public engagement he speaks of the millions of homes electrified, the millions of low-cost houses built, and the thousands of black people who have attained tertiary education through government funding.

What he downplays is the fact that the pace of the construction of low-cost houses has slackened since he came to power in 2009, and that the Public Works Department has failed to create as many jobs as had been anticipated. On his watch, there has been a rising number of service-delivery protests.

The general public perception is also that corruption has been rampant since he took office. To be fair to him, graft in the public sector reached crisis proportions long before he became president.

However, the cloud hanging over his head - especially in relation to his efforts to stop the National Prosecuting Authority from taking his corruption and fraud case to court - continues to fuel negative perceptions.