South African President Jacob Zuma on Tuesday agreed in principle to
resign within a time frame of three to six months, said ANC secretary
general on Tuesday.
ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule said this
when briefing the media in Johannesburg about ANC’s NEC (National
Executive Committee) meeting last night.
He said the NEC resolved to recall Zuma and will brief Parliament caucus on Wednesday.
NAN
reports that the decision by the ANC national executive followed 13
hours of tense deliberations and one, short face-to-face exchange
between Zuma and his presumed successor, deputy
president Cyril
Ramaphosa.
Zuma, a polygamous Zulu traditionalist, has been
living on borrowed time since Ramaphosa, a union leader and lawyer once
tipped as Mandela’s pick to take over the reins, was elected as head of
the 106-year-old ANC in December.
Ramaphosa narrowly defeated
Zuma’s ex-wife and preferred successor, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, in the
leadership vote, forcing him to tread carefully in handling Zuma for
fear of deepening rifts in the party a year ahead of an election.
In
spite of the damning decision to order Zuma’s “recall” – ANC-speak for
‘remove from office’ – domestic media say the 75-year-old might yet defy
the party’s wishes, forcing it into the indignity of having to unseat
him in parliament.
Shortly before midnight, the SABC state
broadcaster said Zuma had been told in person by Ramaphosa that he had
48 hours to resign.
A senior party source later told Reuters Zuma had made clear he was going nowhere.
“Cyril went to speak with him,” the source said, adding that the
discussions were “tense and difficult” when Ramaphosa returned to the
ANC meeting in a hotel near Pretoria.
“
We decided to
recall Zuma,” the source said. Another party source said ANC
Secretary-General and Zuma loyalist Ace Magashule had gone to see Zuma
on Tuesday morning to tell him formally of the party’s decision.The ANC is due to hold a media briefing in the afternoon to reveal its version of events.
One
domestic report said Zuma had asked for three months to resign, a
request that was denied. Another report said he simply told Ramaphosa:
“Do what you want to do”.
Zuma’s spokesman did not answer his
mobile phone. His son, Edward, said he would not comment until after the
ANC had made its formal pronouncement. (NAN)
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