Editing Thabo Mbeki (section)

=== Polokwane conference ===
{{Main|52nd National Conference of the African National Congress}}
In June 2005, Mbeki removed Zuma from his post as national deputy president, after Zuma's associate [[Schabir Shaik]] was [[Schabir Shaik trial|convicted]] of making corrupt payments to Zuma in relation to the 1999 [[South African Arms Deal|Arms Deal]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Vasagar|first=Jeevan|date=2005-06-14|title=Mbeki fires deputy in corruption scandal|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jun/15/southafrica.jeevanvasagar|access-date=2021-12-24|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref><ref name="sacked">{{cite web|date=14 June 2005|title=Deputy president sacked|url=https://mg.co.za/article/2005-06-14-deputy-president-sacked|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215143844/https://mg.co.za/article/2005-06-14-deputy-president-sacked|archive-date=15 February 2018|work=[[Mail & Guardian]]}}</ref> The [[National Prosecuting Authority]] (NPA) [[Jacob Zuma corruption charges|charged Zuma with corruption]] later that year. However, Zuma remained deputy president of the ANC, and in subsequent years, the rivalry between Zuma and Mbeki and their allies intensified, with Zuma supporters frequently alleging that the charges against Zuma were politically motivated.<ref name="Booysen-2011">{{Citation|last=Booysen|first=Susan|title=Aluta continua, from Polokwane to Mangaung|date=2011|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.18772/12011115423.5|work=The African National Congress and the Regeneration of Political Power|pages=33–84|publisher=Wits University Press|isbn=978-1-86814-542-3|jstor=10.18772/12011115423.5|access-date=2021-12-09}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Gevisser|first=Mark|date=2007-12-12|title=South Africa Grows Up|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/12/opinion/12gevisser.html|access-date=2021-12-09|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="Gevisser-2007">{{Cite book|last=Gevisser|first=Mark|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pMJ6AAAAMAAJ|title=Thabo Mbeki: The Dream Deferred|date=2007|publisher=Jonathan Ball|isbn=978-1-86842-301-9|language=en|chapter=Thabo Mbeki, Jacob Zuma, and the Future of the South African Dream}}</ref>

By 2007, Zuma had emerged as an apparent contender in the ANC's next presidential elections, to be held at the party's [[52nd National Conference of the African National Congress|52nd National Conference]] in [[Polokwane|Polokwane, Limpopo]]. By April of that year, it was also clear that Mbeki intended to stand for a third term as ANC president.<ref name="Gevisser-2007" /><ref>Gevisser, Mark (2007). "Home". ''Thabo Mbeki: The Dream Deferred''. Jonathan Ball. {{ISBN|978-1-86842-301-9}}.</ref> Mbeki's term as national president would expire in 2009, and he had said in 2006 that he had no intention of having the [[Constitution of South Africa|Constitution]] changed to permit him a third term in office, saying, "By the end of 2009, I will have been in a senior position in government for 15 years. I think that's too long."<ref name="mg2006feb06">{{cite web|date=6 February 2006|title=Mbeki quashes third-term whispers|url=http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__national/&articleid=263355|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060331024244/http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=%2Fbreaking_news%2Fbreaking_news__national%2F&articleid=263355|archive-date=31 March 2006|access-date=2 September 2013|work=Mail & Guardian}}</ref> However, the ANC lacked internal [[term limit]]s, and some suspected that he intended to continue to exert substantial influence over the government through the ANC presidency.<ref name="Gevisser-2007" /><ref>{{cite web|last=Munusamy|first=Ranjeni|date=2012-11-01|title=Polokwane and Mangaung: Shades of difference|url=https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-11-02-polokwane-and-mangaung-shades-of-difference/|access-date=2021-12-09|website=Daily Maverick|language=en}}</ref>

Zuma drew substantial support from the left wing of the party, especially through the [[African National Congress Youth League|ANC Youth League]] and the ANC's partners in the Tripartite Alliance, the [[South African Communist Party]] and [[Congress of South African Trade Unions|COSATU]], with whom Mbeki's relationship was extremely poor.<ref name="Gevisser-2007"/> At the elective conference, on 18 December, Mbeki lost the presidential election to Zuma, gaining less than 40% of the vote.<ref name="officials">{{cite web|title=Results for the election of ANC officials|url=http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/pr/2007/pr1219.html|url-status=dead|website=ANC|publisher=|accessdate=2008-09-21|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080629130037/http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/pr/2007/pr1219.html|archivedate=2008-06-29}}</ref> According to ANC tradition, as ANC president Zuma would become the party's presidential candidate in the [[2009 South African general election|2009 general election]], and therefore, given the ANC's substantial electoral majority, was overwhelmingly likely to succeed Mbeki as national president in 2009.