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A6 News | | SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2019 2 R ByMAX BEARAK The Washington Post JOHANNESBURG—The African National Congress (ANC), led by union leader- turned-business magnate Cyril Ramaphosa, has re- tained a slimmajority of seats in South Africa’s Parlia- ment, giving Ramaphosa a weakmandate for a full five-year term as president. Wednesday’s election, 25 years after the ANC led South Africa out of apart- heid and into democracy for all its citizens, was seen as a referendumon the party. The previous president, Jacob Zuma, became em- broiled in numerous corrup- tion scandals while the econ- omy lagged and unemploy- ment and inequality deepened, clouding the legacy of the party’s libera- tion struggle. Zuma resigned in February 2018, and Ra- maphosa was elected presi- dent by the National Assem- bly. InWednesday’s vote, the ANC continued its steady slide, falling below 60% in a general election for the first time in its history. Voter turnout was also the lowest in general-election history. But with few upsets in re- gional elections, the result was mostly status quo. “Our people have spoken, and they have done so clear- ly and emphatically,” Rama- phosa said during a brief acceptance speech. “They have voted for a united South Africa in which all may realize their potential. They have voted for a more equal society, free from poverty, hunger and want. They have voted for a coun- try at peace with itself and the world.” Analysts have debated whether a weak showing for the ANCwill help or hurt Ramaphosa, 66, in his ef- forts to commandeer the party after nine years of control by Zuma. “That the ANC is now winning elections by what elsewhere we’d call a nor- mal margin is a sign of anger at the past nine years, but it is also the sign of a maturing democracy,” said Ralph Mathekga, a South African writer and political com- mentator. “I’mof the mind that this is the sweet spot for Ramaphosa. The blame still goes to Zuma, and Rama- phosa avoids being the first ANC leader to lose a majori- ty.” Since Ramaphosa took over fromZuma last year, he has replacedmany of his predecessor’s appointments in the Cabinet and in state- owned enterprises in an attempt to restore investor confidence in an economy that recently slipped in and out of recession. He also approved a judicial inquiry into Zuma’s alleged impro- prieties, which Zuma de- nies. Ramaphosa will still have to contend with Zuma sup- porters who retain positions of power within the ANC, along with a wave of discon- tent and despondency among South Africa’s citi- zens, especially among its young people. More than half of South Africans ages 15 to 24 are unemployed. According to regular polling by Citizen Surveys South Africa, as of March, 79%of South Afri- cans think corruption is on the rise; just 22% think the country is heading in the right direction. The econo- my, still Africa’s most indus- trialized, grew at less than 1% last year. “We are putting our trust and our hopes in President Ramaphosa,” said Khume Ramulifho, a young voter in Soweto, a giant suburb of Johannesburg home tomore than a million people. “We think he is the one who will make a difference in our lives.” Of the 47 opposition par- ties in the South African election, only two are major players: the centrist Demo- cratic Alliance (DA), which has a traditionally white voter base centered inWest- ern Cape province and the city of Cape Town; and the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), led by for- mer ANC youth league Presi- dent Julius Malema who advocates seizing land from white farmers and redistrib- uting it among the poor, black population. ANC wins in South Africa, but vote falls below 60% B E N C U R T I S / T H E A S S O C I A T E D P R E S S President Cyril Ramaphosa applauds as confetti is launched at the end of the results cere- mony at the Independent Electoral Commission Results Center in Pretoria, South Africa. By PETER ROBINS The New York Times LONDON—The list of those who have served as Britain’s poet laureate con- tains many distinguished names. So does the list of those who have refused the job. The 21st poet laureate of the Unit- ed Kingdom—offi- cially appointed by Queen Elizabeth II and named Friday — is Simon Armitage, 55, a critically lauded and popular poet fromWest Yorkshire, in northern England. His appointment came two weeks after a report that the position would go to another ac- claimed poet, Imtiaz Dhark- er, who would have been Britain’s second female lau- reate and its first to be a person of color. She took herself out of consideration, telling The Guardian: “I had to weigh the privacy I need to write poems against the demands of a public role. The poems won.” The British laureateship is one of the most famous hon- ors in literature, with a histo- ry of more than 350 years. It was formerly a lifetime ap- pointment. But since the death of Ted Hughes in 1998, it has come with a 10-year term, no specific duties and a salary traditionally paid partly in sherry. Sarah Lyall wrote in The New York Times in 1998: “Al- though the job has been filled over the years by some of Britain’s poetic heavyweights, in- cluding Ben Jonson, who held the post unofficially, as well as Dryden, Tennyson, Wordsworth, Cecil Day-Lew- is and John Betjeman, it has rarely inspired their best work.” Those reported to have been offered and refused the role includeWalter Scott and Philip Larkin. 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