Nigeria’s Remi Sonaiya was only the country’s third female presidential candidate. (Photo/AFP)
HILLARY Clinton Sunday announced her candidature for the US presidency, the second time she will seek the Democratic Party’s nomination following her failed bid in 2008.
The First Lady between 1993 and 2000 when her husband Bill was president, and Secretary of State in 2009-2013 during President Barack Obama’s first term in office, Clinton is the clear front-runner for the party nomination, so much that the New York Times said it could be one of the “least contested races in recent history.”
It is a stark contrast from seven years ago when Clinton started with an early lead, only to be drawn into a long and expensive battle. She ended up placing third behind Obama and Senator John Edwards.
While Clinton is virtually a shoo-in, in Africa, the story often unfolds very differently. On the very day that she launched her candidature, the leader of South Africa’s main opposition party Helen Zille announced she would not stand for re-election at the party’s upcoming congress next month.
Zille’s sudden decision has largely been interpreted as forced by circumstances: her party’s parliamentary leader Mmusi Maimane is the new, fast-rising kid on the block, and significantly, he is black.
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