(Repeats to additional subscribers)
* ANC women's league backs Dlamini-Zuma as party leader
* Party to pick successor to President Zuma in December
* Dlamini-Zuma is Zuma's ex-wife, African Union chair
* Vice President Ramaphosa expected to be main rival
By Joe Brock
JOHANNESBURG, Jan 7 (Reuters) - The chances of South AfricanPresident Jacob Zuma's ex-wife, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, becomingthe next leader of the African National Congress were given aboost on Saturday with the endorsement of the ruling party'swomen's division.
The ANC will pick a new leader at a conference in Decemberand, given its national dominance since coming to power at theend of apartheid in 1994, the winner is likely to go on to beSouth Africa's next president when elections are held in 2019.
Dlamini-Zuma, the chairwoman of the African Union, is viewedas a frontrunner. She is a Zulu, the largest tribe in SouthAfrica, and is expected to have the backing of her formerhusband, who will have a major say in who succeeds him.
The Women's League's endorsement is the first for a specificcandidate by a national section of the ANC and will intensifythe debate over who will take the party forward after itsuffered its worst local election results last year.
Dlamini-Zuma was regarded as a capable technocrat during hertime as South Africa's minister of home affairs between 2009 and2012 and has since gained international exposure during her timeas the first female head of the AU.
However, critics of Dlamini-Zuma, a medical doctor trainedin South Africa and Britain, say she should have done more tointervene when former president Thabo Mbeki denied that HIVcauses AIDs and imposed anti-scientific policies.
Mbeki's stance has been blamed by health activists for morethan 300,000 preventable deaths. Dlamini-Zuma was foreignminister in Mbeki's cabinet and one of his closest allies.
Vice President Cyril Ramaphosa, a unionist-turned-businesstycoon, is viewed as her most likely rival after powerful tradeunions endorsed him last year.
Neither Dlamini-Zuma, 67, or Ramaphosa, 64, have declaredtheir intention to run.
Ramaphosa, who was once touted as a successor to NelsonMandela, would be the first choice for many investors becausehis background in commerce suggests he will support morepro-business policies than many in the traditionally left-wingANC.
However, he will face criticism from opponents for his roleat platinum producer Lonmin where he was a director andshareholder when violence led to police shooting dead 34striking miners in 2012. An investigation has cleared him ofwrongdoing.
The Women's League has a block of votes at the partyconference and are a critical lobbying group for the ANC,particularly in galvanising support among female voters.
"After careful consideration and opening our eyes as wide aspossible, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma is the only suitablecandidate," the Women's League said in a statement.
"Her legacy and influence is known and well documentedthroughout the history pages of the republic and beyond."
Many South Africans believe it is time the ANC had a femaleleader, a rarity on a continent with strong patriarchalheritage. Zuma has previously said that South Africa is readyfor a female president. (Editing by Alison Williams and Susan Thomas)
