Zuma celebrates victory, pledges to unite the country

Jacob Zuma of the African National Congress (ANC) celebrated on Saturday his party's victory at the polls and pledged to form a "government for all South Africans".Jacob Zuma on Saturday claimed a "resounding victory" for his African National Congress in general elections and pledge to form a "government for all South Africans"."Working together we will make it a government for all South Africans," he said in nationally televised remarks, shortly after the electoral commission announced the final results in Wednesday's poll."The new president of the republic will be a president for all," he said.With a 66 percent majority in parliament, the ANC is set to elect Zuma as president when the new legislature convenes on May 6."We do not take the mandate lightly, we know the responsibility that comes with it," he said."Our resounding victory is a celebration for people from all walks of life," he said."We are very grateful and humbled by the decisive mandate we have received from millions of South Africans," he said."The ANC victory is an endorsement of our policies and programmes. But more than that, it is a victory for the country's constitution, which we will always uphold, promote and defend," he added."We reiterate that the constitution is not under threat from the ANC. It has never been."The ANC took 264 seats in the 400-member parliament, just two short of the number needed to change the constitution at will. The party won a super-majority in 2004, but did not make major changes to the charter.