Jacob Zuma is quitting as President of South Africa, finally succumbing to a slew of corruption scandals that have drained support from his ruling African National Congress party.
The announcement came after the ANC took the extraordinary step of calling for a no-confidence vote in the leader on Wednesday, a day after it publicly demanded his resignation. Party officials on Tuesday decided to issue a “recall” notice after failing privately to convince Zuma that he should step aside.
Zuma, 75, survived multiple attempts by opposition parties to oust him during his more than eight years in power, earning him the nickname of the “Teflon president.”
The ANC had been trying to push Zuma out for months. It dumped him as party president in December, narrowly electing Cyril Ramaphosa, a millionaire former union leader, over Zuma’s preferred successor, his ex-wife, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
Ramaphosa said Sunday that the uncertainty over Zuma’s future had damaged the ANC.
But despite signs that the party was losing electoral support over the protracted drama, internal divisions forced Ramaphosa to tread cautiously. For years, the ANC — which led South Africa out of apartheid — put party unity first, even as it became apparent that Zuma was an electoral liability.
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