South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) declined on Saturday to comment on a report its executive plans to force Jacob Zuma to quit as President, as its leaders gather to outline the party’s programme for the coming year.
National broadcaster eNCA said on Saturday that the ANC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) had resolved on Friday to ask Mr. Zuma to resign and that, if he refused, he would be forced to step down by the party’s six-strong leadership group. The station did not name its sources.
An anonymous NEC member quoted by online news site News24 said that decision had been reached unanimously.
Mr. Zuma’s second presidential term is due to run until 2019. The newly elected NEC made no mention of his possible early exit in a statement it issued after meeting for the first time on Thursday and Friday under the party’s new leader, Cyril Ramaphosa.
Asked about the reports that Mr. Zuma would be asked to resign, an ANC spokeswoman said: “We can’t confirm rumours of things that we don’t know. The NEC has issued a statement on the totality of discussions yesterday.”
Mr. Zuma’s presidency has been tainted by a series of corruption allegations, all of which he denies.
He retains the support of one part of the ANC leadership, but many others in the party argue that he has tarnished the image of Africa’s oldest liberation movement.
Mr. Ramaphosa succeeded Zuma as ANC head last month, making him likely to replace Mr. Zuma as the country’s next President.
The party’s secretary-general Ace Magashule said on Thursday that Mr. Zuma’s early removal as head of state was not on the agenda of the NEC meeting, which runs until Sunday.
