POLOKWANE, South Africa, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Chaos marked the opening of the African National Congress as supporters of South Africa's Jacob Zuma drowned out rival delegates.
The conference is to elect a new ANC head and that choice could determine who becomes South Africa's next president, the BBC reported Sunday.
Zuma, the current ANC deputy, is favored to win despite the condemnation of Desmond Tutu, a former Archbishop of Cape Town, who has urged delegates not to "choose someone of whom most of us would be shamed," the BBC reported.
Zuma was acquitted of raping a woman half his age and allegedly remains a suspect in a multimillion-dollar weapons scandal, the BBC reported.
Zuma's supporters Saturday shouted his name and drowned out his rivals, including South African Defense Minister Mousiuoa Lekota, the BBC reported.
The five-day conference in Polokwane, Limpopo, is the ANC's first leadership contest in 58 years.
