Zuma: what they say about the president-in-waiting

South Africa goes to the polls on April 22 for the country's most crucial elections since Nelson Mandela came to power. The result is assured: the ANC will again win by a landslide, and Jacob Zuma will take over as president – after vitriolic politicking and infighting - from Thabo Mbeki. But with the 'rainbow nation' beset by crime, Aids and recession, Archbishop Desmond Tutu has said that "we are in a bad place at the moment in this country".

Zuma, though undoubtedly hard-working and charismatic, is a hugely controversial figure. He has been tried and acquitted of rape, and inspired widespread derision after he said that he had protected himself from HIV infection by vigorously showering after sex. He was, until recently, accused of 16 counts of corruption, bribery, money laundering and racketeering over a multi-million pound government arms deal. These charges were thrown out, only this month, because of flaws in the prosecution.

"There is no cloud above my head, there is not even a mist," he told journalists attending his final press conference before the election, where he called for a massive turnout. Few of those journalists will be wishing him well: his relationship with the press, both at home and abroad, is terrible. He has started lawsuits against several newspapers for character defamation.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYINGSimon Tisdall, the Guardian: When Mugabe stole last year's presidential election [in Zimbabwe], Zuma was critical at first…But the hope that Zuma was breaking with Mbeki's quietly-do-nothing diplomacy has since faded. He now firmly backs Zimbabwe's new power-sharing accord despite strong suspicions that the opposition has been suckered into perpetuating Mugabe's hold on power. Last month he attacked western countries such as Britain for withholding development aid.

Paul Vallely, the Independent, on Zuma's 'high-octane populism': At rallies he habitually bursts into song with the apartheid-era anthem "Umshini wami" (Bring Me My Machine-Gun). He wants to reintroduce the death penalty and deny legal aid to those accused of serious crimes. He opposes same-sex partnerships as "a disgrace to the nation" and has said that in his youth he would have knocked out any ungqingili (Zulu for "queer") who had stood in front of him.

Justice Malala, the Times (South Africa): The titanic tussle between Jacob Zuma and Mbeki has torn the party apart for more than nine years now. It is not over. Recent events illustrate that our judiciary, our intelligence services, our army, our civil services, our media and virtually every sector of society are now part of this fight. Everywhere it is the same: there are Zuma camps and Mbeki camps. Truth lies in pieces. Integrity is forgotten.

Alec Russell, the Financial Times: Zuma stresses the need to confront the epidemic of violent crime. But even if he surprises his critics and shows the purpose and authority to promote [such] initiatives - history suggests the ANC is better at formulating policy than implementing it - this is only a part of the battle the ANC faces, and arguably the easier part. Its greater test is whether it has the appetite to rein in two insidious trends that have proved so destructive to other liberation movements turned governments, and not just in Africa: a drive for self-enrichment and the increasing push for the ANC to dominate society.

Andrew Belonsky, the Huffington Post: While certainly Zuma has a nominal right to privacy, his ink-soaked battles have many worried he'll come down hard on the free press, a cornerstone of any democratic society. He's most recently filed a lawsuit against Britain's Guardian over an article in which Simon Jenkins called him an "unschooled former terrorist," a "communist sympathiser" and "polygamous". All of those charges happen to be true: Zuma has little education, has worked with the nation's communist party since 1963 and has an estimated 22 wives. As for the "terrorist" charge: that depends on where you stand on the ANC's armed struggle, which helped topple the unjust apartheid.

Mondli Makhanya, the Times: The vengeful noises coming out of the Zuma camp this week were worrisome… In their frothing at the mouth, the hatred for those perceived as Mbeki's coterie was palpable. The hatred is not just about what they term "the persecution of Zuma". For many of them, it is about the personal hurt Mbeki caused them during his sadistic reign. They want him and his allies to feel the pain they were put through. Over the next few years we may see the victors chase the vanquished into the caves and forests and hunt them until there is not one left standing. They will seek to destroy their careers, squeeze their businesses and generally make life miserable for them.

Report in the Economist: Will Mr Zuma be up to the job? Whites, in particular, are alarmed by his lack of formal education; his flamboyant polygamy; his irresponsible attitude toward HIV/Aids, as revealed at his rape trial; and his hidden years with the ANC underground, particularly as head of intelligence…Then there are those worrying stray comments. He wants to review the status of the Constitutional Court (which has several times found against him), "because I don't think we should have people who are almost like God in a democracy". ·