SOUTH AFRICA:SOUTH AFRICAN president Thabo Mbeki publicly stood down as his country's leader last night following a request to do so on Saturday by his party, the African National Congress (ANC), which he led until late last year, writes Bill Corcoranin Johannesburg.
Mr Mbeki's resignation came shortly after senior ANC members concluded his position was no longer tenable in light of a recent court ruling that suggested he was involved in the decision by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to recharge party leader Jacob Zuma last December.
Addressing the nation live on television last night after an emergency cabinet meeting, the two-term president confirmed he would step down at the behest of his party after all the constitutional commitments had been met.
"Today I handed a letter to the honourable speaker of parliament Baleka Mbete to tender my resignation as president of South Africa . . . I have been a loyal member of the African National Congress for 52 years. I remain a member of the ANC, and therefore respect its decisions," he said.
However, Mr Mbeki insisted that neither he nor his cabinet had ever interfered with the judiciary during his presidency, and more specifically in relation to the charges relating to his rival Mr Zuma.
"I have never done this [interfered with judiciary], never compromised the right of the NPA to decide who to prosecute and who not to . . . this applies to the Zuma case," he said.
He concluded that his resignation date would be decided by parliament over the coming days.
The ANC said it would nominate Mr Mbeki's interim successor today.
The ruling party said Mr Mbeki's agreement to resign would help to stabilise the country.
If he had refused to stand down then a two-thirds majority vote in parliament was necessary to pass a motion he was not fit to hold office.
However, some opposition parties and analysts believe the decision to remove him could have grave ramifications for South Africa, especially given the global economic crisis.
Addressing the media on Saturday, ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe said the decision to ask the president to resign was taken "as an effort to heal and unite the African National Congress".
Mr Mantashe maintained asking the country's president to stand down was a political way to deal with the implications of the ruling by Judge Chris Nicholson.
Shortly before the respected judge dismissed the charges of corruption and fraud against Mr Zuma on a procedural technicality, he suggested Mr Mbeki may have been involved in a political conspiracy against the ANC leader. The NPA decided to resurrect the charges against Mr Zuma a few days after he was elected leader of the ruling party last year at Mr Mbeki's expense.
"The biggest worry of the ANC has been the question of a reversal of the closure of the chapter [that the Nicholson judgement seemed to have promised]." A few days after the [Zuma] ruling the NPA decided to appeal the judgment, which had become a worry, said Mr Mantashe.
"If pursued, it will continue to be a point of division for the ANC . . . We share their desire for stability and we believe our decision is in the interests of making that security."
The ousting of Mr Mbeki by his party seven months before he was due to retire has generated mixed emotions in the country he led for nine years.
Mr Mbeki's sacking was a case of "revenge, pure and simple," according to the leader of the main opposition Democratic Alliance, Helen Zille, who added it had "everything to do with the internal battles of the ANC and nothing to do with the interest of South Africa".
South Africa's Sunday Times newspaper said yesterday that considering Mr Mbeki's poor record on dealing with the scourge of HIV/Aids and crime, as well as his tendency to turn a blind eye to corruption and incompetence by those loyal to his presidency, his removal was the correct decision.