Last night (21 September 2008), South Africa’s President, Thabo Mbeki resigned. Mbeki’s resignation will become effective at a date to be determined by the National Assembly. The President will remain in office until the National Assembly accepts his resignation and determines his date of departure. The ANC is expected to announce its preferred candidate for Acting President today (Monday). The Acting President is then expected to convene Cabinet in terms of the Constitution. The African National Congress (ANC) had asked Mbeki to quit before the end of his term next year, eight days after a judge threw out corruption charges against party leader Jacob Zuma, suggesting there was high-level political meddling in the case.

Parliamentary speaker Baleka Mbete is expected to be given the job of acting president. Jacob Zuma, who holds no government post, is unlikely to have such an interim role and is all but certain to become head of state in 2009 elections. Zuma is scheduled to have a news briefing today at 12:00 and it will be very interesting to hear what he has to say in the aftermath of the most testing time in South Africa politics since 1994.

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