How will South Africa's ANC recover after Zuma exit?
South African President Jacob Zuma has been given 48 hours to go or be recalled. According to SABC report on Monday afternoon, Zuma had agreed to step down, adding that the only sticking point was who would communicate the decision: government or the ANC.
A special meeting of the ANC National Executive Committee meeting came amid growing calls from within the ANC and from opposition parties for Zuma to step down as the head of state‚ about 18 months before his term of office comes to an end. Zuma’s nine years as President have been marred by economic decline and multiple charges of corruption that undermined the image and legitimacy of the party that led South Africans to freedom from apartheid in 1994.
However, the 75-year-old retains significant support inside the party and at a local level in many parts of South Africa. This is a real test of the ANC’s stability and interpretation of its own constitution. Ralph Mathekga, a political analyst and author, said: “Zuma is not just a person. He is a system. There are a whole lot of people whose politics fortunes are tied to his. We are watching a battle for the soul of the ANC. It’s a referendum on the true balance of power within the party.”
Ramaphosa won a bitterly fought internal election to become party president and is to replace Zuma as South African president, in accordance with the constitution. Supporters of the former trade union leader, who is seen as the standard bearer of the ANC’s reformist wing, have pushed for Zuma to be sidelined as quickly as possible to allow the party to regroup before campaigning starts for elections in 2019. The former ANC security chief and liberation activist is also facing a no-confidence motion in parliament set for 22nd February.
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