UPDATE 1-S.Africa ANC opens door for Mbeki to remain leader

(Reuters) - MIDRAND, South Africa, June 29 - South Africa's
ruling African National Congress said on Friday it favoured
keeping the current rules for electing the party's leader,
opening the door for President Thabo Mbeki to seek a third term.




"There is no need to change the current procedures," ANC
General Secretary Kgalema Motlanthe told reporters after about
1,500 activists met outside Johannesburg to discuss the party's
policies and the process to elect a leader in December.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 2-S.Africa's ANC nears decision on leadership spat

(Reuters) - MIDRAND, June 29 - South Africa's ruling African
National Congress said on Friday it was still struggling to
decide how to elect its next leader amid disagreement over
whether to allow President Thabo Mbeki to run for a third term.




About 1,500 delegates from the ANC, which has ruled the
country since 1994, were meeting at a policy conference to
debate proposals that could block or clear the way for Mbeki to
hold on to the reins of the party at a congress in December.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News