By IRNA,
Pretoria : President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, the loser in a prolonged power struggle with his rival, Jacob Zuma, agreed Saturday to resign.
IRNA reporter in Pretoria said that the African National Congress asked the president to step down.
The party’s fateful decision is a harsh rebuke to Mbeki, the aloof and scholarly man who succeeded Nelson Mandela.
Mbeki had first served the congress as an acolyte in the nation’s freedom struggle and later for two decades as one of its guiding lights.
Gwede Mantashe, the party’s secretary general, announced the ouster at an afternoon news conference. Mbeki had been informed earlier.
“He did not display any shock or any depression,” Mantashe said.
“He welcomed the news and agreed that he is going to participate in the process and the formalities.”
Within hours, Mbeki’s office confirmed that he would leave the presidency “after all constitutional requirements are met.” An acting president will be appointed from Parliament, probably within days, Mantashe said.
While Zuma, who is not a yet a member of that body, is ineligible to be the replacement, he is expected to win the presidency after parliamentary elections next year.