He could be the next president of the ANC - and also in the dock

The ANC could have a new president next year - and he could also be in the dock facing corruption charges.

Thabo Mbeki and his lobbyists have been humiliated as most of the ANC's provinces and branch delegates denied the party president a third term and gave an overwhelming yes to Jacob Zuma.

With the last of the votes for ANC presidential nominations filtering in yesterday, it was clear that in terms of overall head count and provincial support, Zuma was way ahead by 842 votes - and that the rank and file want change.

According to unverified results, Zuma had mustered a total of 2 236 votes to Mbeki's 1 394.

But National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Tlali Tlali said the legal process was "a completely different kettle of fish from political processes", and prosecuting bosses would not be influenced by Zuma's potential rise to the ANC presidency.

Six people were on the Zuma case - "it could take some time" before anything new happened.

If the NPA does charge Zuma it will probably be months before he is arrested.

Zuma suffered a severe setback earlier this month when he lost four appeals in the Supreme Court of Appeal.

His lawyers said they would take these decisions to the Constitutional Court and are likely to file papers this week.

It will take the court several months to resolve these appeals and the NPA is unlikely to act against Zuma before its findings.

Zuma's lobbyists are urging Mbeki to throw in the towel but yesterday the president's camp were not about to concede defeat.

Last-minute hurdles along the way for Zuma to the final Polokwane vote include a heightened campaign by Mbeki's lobbyists, fickle voters who might be swayed by money and patronage, and behind-the-scenes horse-trading.

Mbeki bagged four provinces (Eastern Cape, Limpopo, North West and Western Cape) with relatively modest margins, while Zuma led the pack in the remaining five provinces, by huge majorities.

The tally at the time of going to press excluded figures from the ANC Youth League earmarked for Zuma and possible ANC Women's League support for Mbeki.

Also excluded are votes by national executive committee (NEC) and provincial executive committee delegates, who will cast secret ballots in Polokwane.

Voting delegates from these structures total 400, as opposed to 3 675 branch voters.

Among the last votes in yesterday were those from Gauteng - with 262 for Zuma and 94 for Mbeki.

Last night Mbeki's lobbyists, particularly in the Eastern Cape stronghold, stood strong behind their preferred candidate.

With Mbeki having won the Eastern Cape vote by 520 to Zuma's 322, the provincial leadership - first to moot a third ANC term for their candidate - were not talking compromise or considering calls for their man to withdraw.

Mbeki's main backer and provincial strategist, Andile Nkuhlu, said that even though the cards might look stacked against Mbeki, "We will vote by popular force (at Polokwane). Withdrawal is not even an issue ... get real."

But he acknowledged: "It was always going to be a difficult contest and we are dealing here with seasoned leaders of the ANC. It will be extremely tight, most probably up until the end."

A Western Cape Zuma lobbyist, who did not want named, said the results showed Mbeki was a spent force.

"There is no way Mbeki can recover from this. We have two-thirds support of structures. He must just withdraw now."

Patronage, money and any other means to swing the vote back to Mbeki would not succeed.

"That has already been done. People are resolved ... I don't know what else they can do."

On cutting deals with the Mbeki camp, he said: "They have nothing else to offer. They must accept the outcome of a democratic process. Democracy means that, doesn't it?"

In spite of the corruption cloud hanging over Zuma, the lobbyist said: "We will elect Jacob Zuma even if they charge him. We want change. We want to move forwards."

Meanwhile, Mbeki's allies also appeared to feel the backlash, with former Northern Cape premier Manne Dipico and his successor Dipuo Peters among those axed from their province's executive committee's nomination list.

In KwaZulu Natal, Mbeki ally Premier S'bu Ndebele escaped embarrassment when the provincial ANC leadership moved to block a motion to remove him.

Earlier the KZN provincial government council overwhelmingly voted to remove the names of ANC strategist Joel Netshitenzhe and Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla from the list.

It replaced them with former deputy health minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge and former MP Ruth Bhengu.

An independent electoral agency appointed to conduct the election will, in the presence of the ANC's electoral commission, conduct an audit from tomorrow to determine the validity of candidates for all ANC leadership posts.

With acknowledgements to The Star.