On 15 February 2018, following Jacob Zuma's resignation, the National Assembly indirectly elected Ramaphosa, unopposed, as President of South Africa.
[3] In the run-up to the 54th National Conference, much of the campaigning was polarised by Zuma's controversial presidency, and especially by allegations that he had facilitated widespread state capture.
Speaking at the event alongside Mcebisi Jonas, who had been fired as Deputy Finance Minister by Zuma shortly after making public claims about corruption in government, Ramaphosa criticised factionalism, patronage, and rent-seeking among state and party officials, and said that he would support a judicial commission of inquiry into allegations of state capture.
"[14] He was supported by the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the SACP,[13] as well as by politicians including Angie Motshekga[15] and Pravin Gordhan.
[19] Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma had been the head of the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa, but in mid-2016 she announced that she would not stand for a second term, and she returned to South Africa in early 2017.
[13] Dlamini-Zuma's campaign, under the banner #WeAreReady,[13] centred on land redistribution, reform at the South African Reserve Bank, and economic transformation generally.
[25][26][27] "Radical economic transformation" was a longstanding policy slogan of the ANC, but was revived by Zuma in 2017 and subsequently was sometimes used by his allies to defend "rent-seeking practices"[28] and the influence of the Gupta family.
[39][40] Although all the races were close, the Secretary General contest was the tightest, with Free State Premier Ace Magashule winning by only 24 votes.
The following ten candidates received the most votes:[42][1] Notable resolutions agreed at the Conference included that the ANC should pursue land expropriation without compensation as a matter of national policy,[43] that the mandate of the South African Reserve Bank should be expanded,[44][45] and that ANC members alleged to have been involved in corruption should "step aside" pending further investigation.