Mosiuoa Lekota, of South Africa's new Congress of the People party, dances on stage during the party's inaugural session Sunday. Mr. Lekota is COPE's interim chairman and a top candidate for party leader. European Pressphoto AgencyFrom The Wall Street Journal:
BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa -- Defectors from South Africa's dominant African National Congress are set to choose a leader of a new political party that supporters hope will pose the biggest challenge to the party of Nelson Mandela since it gained power 14 years ago.
The new party is forming at a time of political and economic turmoil for South Africa. The mineral-rich country has boomed in recent years amid rising global demand for its resources. Now that global commodity prices are dropping, there is less revenue to invest in infrastructure, particularly in the weak power sector, and to alleviate growing discontent among the country's poorest.
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