South Africa's scandal-hit President Cyril Ramaphosa has been re-elected as the leader of the ruling African National Congress (ANC). He defeated his opponent Zweli Mkhize with 2,476 votes against 1,897.
Mr Ramaphosa won despite being dogged by allegations of money laundering, and a last-minute surge in support for Mr Mkhize, who has also been accused of corruption.
They all deny the allegations. His victory puts him in a good position to lead the ANC in the 2024 elections.
But he is still at risk as he is being investigated by the police, the tax office and the central bank for allegedly hiding at least $580,000 in a sofa on his private farm, and then concealing his theft.
A panel of legal experts appointed by the speaker of the parliament, said that proceedings to prosecute him should be initiated because he may have violated the constitution and broken the anti-corruption law.
Mr Ramaphosa's bid for re-election was boosted by the fact that the ANC used its parliamentary majority to vote on the panel's views. President Ramaphosa has denied any wrongdoing, and has initiated legal action to overturn the panel's report.
He said the $580,000 came from the sale of buffalo, but the panel said there was "significant doubt" about whether the transaction took place.
Mr Mkhize was the minister of health in the government of Mr Ramaphosa, until he had to resign last year due to allegations of misuse of funds allocated to deal with the Covid-19 epidemic.
He has also denied any wrongdoing, and his supporters saw the allegations as an attempt to smear him.
Mr Ramaphosa was the favorite to win, but Mr Mkhize got more votes than expected after giving key positions to other powerful leaders in deals reached before delegates voted at the conference.
Both parties denied allegations of vote buying. The ANC party has been in power since the rule of the white minority ended in 1994, and hopes to get a sixth term in the 2024 parliamentary elections.
But opinion polls show that his vote has fallen significantly due to widespread government corruption, high unemployment and poor public services - including frequent power outages.
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