ANC orders Zuma to step down as South African president

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s ruling party ordered Jacob Zuma on Tuesday to step down as head of state but gave him no firm deadline to go, setting the stage for a potential fight to wrest him from power.

Leading members of the African National Congress now want new party leader Cyril Ramaphosa to replace Zuma, ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule told a news conference. That appeared to herald the end of the road for a leader whose near decade in power divided Nelson Mandela’s post-apartheid ‘Rainbow Nation’.

Magashule said the party’s national executive was split on precisely when Zuma should step down. Zuma had promised to respond to the order by Wednesday, Magashule said.

The rand currency weakened, with traders blaming uncertainty caused by the lack of a clear timetable.

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