But Thabo Mbeki's victory is such a foregone conclusion that when an opposition leader reminded Parliament that Mbeki had not been chosen yet, the MPs erupted in laughter. The real suspense in this election is whether the African National Congress will win two thirds of the seats in Parliament, allowing the party to rewrite parts of the Constitution. This is an election about two thirds. But one temptation would be to reduce the power of the nine provinces, two of which now are governed by other parties. Other possibilities include scaling back the autonomy of the courts and the central Reserve Bank, or dropping the two-term limit to allow Mbeki to extend his presidency beyond 2009.
Some skeptics doubt the two-thirds brouhaha has anything to do with the Constitution.
They think the parties are really fighting apathy among voters.