Former President FW De Klerk speaking at Cape Town Press Club hosted luncheon at the Kelvin Grove Club said he was happy that President Cyril Ramaphosa emerged as the leader of the ANC.

De Klerk said that it was not an endorsement of the ANC and was not urging people to go out and vote for the ANC as he himself would be voting for an opposition party in order to strengthen South Africa’s democracy.

Cyril Ramaphosa emerged as the leader of the ANC in December 2017 when we beat Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in a hotly contested leadership battle at the ANC’s 54th national conference. Dlamini Zuma is the ex-wife of former President Jacob Zuma and his chosen successor.

After Ramaphosa prevailed against Zuma there were calls for him to step down as President. After some initial hesitation Jacob Zuma resigned and Cyril Ramaphosa was sworn in as president.

De Klerk is the last apartheid president of South Africa who released Nelson Mandela and unbanned the ANC and other anti-apartheid organisations in 1990 and started the negotiation process that would lead to the first democratic elections in 1994 after which Nelson Mandela emerged as president.