28 Oct 2011

Black leader chosen by opposition party

6:16 pm on 28 October 2011

The Democratic Alliance party in South Africa has chosen a black woman as its new parliamentary leader.

Lindiwe Mazibuko, 31, beat incumbent Athol Trollip, a white man, in an election for the post.

Analysts say her election shows the DA is trying to shed its image as a mainly-white party in a country with a black majority.

The Alliance got 24% of the vote in the 2009 parliamentary election, a long way behind the African National Congress, which has ruled South Africa since 1994.

The BBC reports South Africa is heavily polarised along racial lines. Whites make up about 10% of the population.

Critics see Ms Mazibuko's election as window-dressing and say the party remains white-dominated.