ANC votes embattled Winnie back into the fold

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the former wife of Nelson Mandela, made another political comeback yesterday when the African National Congress re-elected her to the top tier of party officials.

Mrs Madikizela-Mandela, who faces fraud charges and has been condemned by the ANC's leadership as an undisciplined opportunist, got the sixth highest number of votes in the election for the party's 60-member executive committee.

Thabo Mbeki, the President, was elected to serve another five years as party leader. His nomination and that of five other party officials was unopposed. Of those elected to the executive committee, the Finance Minister, Trevor Manuel, won the most votes, with Cyril Ramaphosa, a businessman, in second place.

The election provides an indication of who might be in line to succeed Mr Mbeki when he steps down after a second term in 2009.

Most analysts do not view Mr Manuel or Mrs Madikizela-Mandela as likely candidates, but Mr Ramaphosa is considered a possibility. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the Foreign Minister, who has also emerged as a potential heir, came third in the election.

The ANC's trade union and Communist Party allies, which oppose the government's privatisation plans and want it to deliver more social services, were marginalised.