SA leader lashes out at critics

SA leader lashes out at critics
Jacob Zuma and Thabo Mbeki, pictured in August
Supporters of Mr Zuma (left) are urging Mr Mbeki (right) to step down

South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki has condemned critics within his own African National Congress (ANC) party who are calling for his resignation.

Mr Mbeki issued a statement attacking the tendency to "hurl insults" at him.

He denied suggestions that he intervened in the corruption case against the ANC leader Jacob Zuma.

The statement was made public as senior ANC members prepared to begin a three-day meeting to discuss President Mbeki's future.

He is coming under pressure to step down following a court ruling that said there had been political interference in Mr Zuma's trial.

The ANC's National Executive Committee (NEC), which is to debate the issue and is made up of mainly Mr Zuma's supporters, cannot force Mr Mbeki to resign as president.

But correspondents say that if cannot persuade him to go they may opt to take their battle to parliament.

'Titanic struggle'

The BBC's Peter Biles in Johannesburg says South Africa is in a state of flux.


We are no longer beating it [the dead snake], and we are burying this snake this weekend
ANC Youth League's Julius Malema

Mbeki: Born into struggle

Last December, Mr Mbeki lost the leadership of the ANC to Mr Zuma, who will be the party's presidential candidate in elections, expected in the first half of next year.

Mr Mbeki's position has been further weakened after the suggestion of political meddling in the prosecution of Mr Zuma.

Last week a High Court judge ruled that the decision to prosecute was invalid.

He also referred to a "titanic political struggle" between Mr Zuma and Mr Mbeki, and said the polarisation of the country into opposing camps was well known.

But on Friday, Mr Mbeki denied he had any involvement in the decision by state prosecutors to appeal against last week's ruling.

"We would like to state, for the record, that the NDPP [National Directorate of Public Prosecutions] neither met nor communicated with the president or any official in the presidency before making its determination," a statement from the president's office said.

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"The NDPP has, as well disputed the claim," it continued.

Mr Zuma has tried to cool passions, saying that there is no need to "beat a dead snake".

But BBC Africa analyst Martin Plaut says hot-headed ANC members, including the head of the party's Youth League, will not easily be dissuaded.

"Fine, we are leaving this 'dead snake', but we must bury it. We are no longer beating it, and we are burying this snake this weekend," ANC Youth League President Julius Malema said.

Scenarios

In the past, Mr Mbeki has said that if the NEC passes a vote of no-confidence, he will accept the party's decision and resign.

Our Africa analyst says that if he refuses then attention moves to parliament, where there are mechanisms for the removal of a sitting president.

He says this could be done in one of two ways:

* The president could be removed: This would require a two-thirds majority and could only be done on specific grounds. It would have to be shown that the president had committed a serious violation of the constitution or the law, been responsible for serious misconduct, or was unable to perform the functions of office.
* Parliament could pass a motion of no-confidence: This would require the support of a simple majority of MPs. The president and the other members of the cabinet and any deputy ministers must then resign, triggering early elections.

Some political analysts believe the ANC is simply not ready for early elections.

Constitutional expert George Devenish said unseating President Mbeki could be more difficult than it appears.

Getting a two-thirds majority in parliament would be difficult, he suggested, since a good number of MPs support the president.

He says it might even be hard to get a majority of MPs to pass a motion of no-confidence, since although the ANC controls 297 out of the 400 seats, many MPs owe their positions to President Mbeki and know that they are unlikely to return to parliament after next year's elections.