Senior members of South
Africa’s ANC party will hold an emergency meeting Monday to discuss
whether President Jacob Zuma should stay in office after he reportedly
refused to resign.
Zuma, whose presidency has been
engulfed by corruption scandals, is due to deliver the annual state of
the nation address on Thursday, despite growing calls for him to step
down.
Many African National Congress (ANC)
members are pushing for Cyril Ramaphosa, the new head of the party, to
replace Zuma as president immediately.
But Zuma loyalists have said that the
president should complete his second and final term in office, which
would end when elections are held next year.
The ANC’s 26-person National Working
Committee was due at meet at Luthuli House, the party headquarters in
Johannesburg, at 2:00 pm (1200 GMT).
“Yes, it is happening, it will be
dealing with this situation,” a party official told AFP, declining to be
named, in reply to a question about the meeting and media speculation
over Zuma’s possible exit.
Zuma’s presidency has been dominated
by graft scandals. He faces several court cases, including over 783
payments he allegedly received linked to an arms deal before he came to
power in 2009.
His hold on the ANC was shaken when
his chosen successor — his former wife Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma — lost out
to Ramaphosa in the closely-fought race to be party leader in December.
Zuma could leave office either by resigning, through losing a motion of no-confidence in parliament or impeachment proceedings.
He could also be recalled by the ANC, forcing him to step down.
AFP
0 comments:
Post a Comment