/ 12 February 2018

Zexit: Late night for South Africans as hours pass without an update

From left
From left

It is expected to be a late night for anxious South Africans who want to know what the ANC has decided about the fate of President Jacob Zuma.

The governing party’s national executive committee does not vote but rather persuades each other of their viewpoints.

READ MORE: Zuma: Critical, but stable

And, almost seven hours after the NEC’s urgent meeting started on Monday, members were still taking turns to express their views.

The NEC has been locked in the meeting since 14:00, deliberating on whether it should recall Zuma after he had refused to step down, when the ANC’s top six officials asked him to do so.

Journalists have been camping outside the Saint George Hotel in Pretoria, waiting for formal communication from the ANC about the outcome of the meeting.

Earlier, ANC Youth League President Collen Maine was seen leaving the meeting.

An ANC source told News24 that discussions were still underway, with a long list of NEC members still to address the meeting. But he was adamant that there should only be one outcome for the gathering.

“We are still dissuading, but this man [Zuma] must go,” said the source.

Addressing an ANC rally in Cape Town on Sunday, party president Cyril Ramaphosa said the NEC will bring “finality” to the matter. — News 24