PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA, NOVEMBER 26, 2017: Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the African National Congress (ANC) Tshwane Rally at the TUT Soshanguve Campus on November 26, 2017 in Pretoria, South Africa. Ramaphosa discussed his ideas for the ANC and added that the party must go back to their old days when Nelson Mandela was president. […]
PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA, NOVEMBER 26, 2017: Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the African National Congress (ANC) Tshwane Rally at the TUT Soshanguve Campus on November 26, 2017 in Pretoria, South Africa. Ramaphosa discussed his ideas for the ANC and added that the party must go back to their old days when Nelson Mandela was president. […]
The dust is beginning to settle on the Zuma era of South African politics. Now, the power is in Cyril Ramaphosa’s hands. Or at least, it should be later on Thursday afternoon.
Mr Zuma officially resigned on Wednesday night in a live televised address at a press conference. It comes just two months after Ramaphosa won the nomination for the ANC Presidency, and he’s been able to apply enough pressure on JZ to oust him from office.
When will Cyril Ramaphosa be sworn in as President?
The ceremony has been planned for 14:00 on Thursday 15 February. We make that less than 18 hours after Zuma’s announcement. ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu confirmed the news this morning:
#SwearingIn ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu confirms that swearing-in of new President will happen at 2pm this afternoon. LD
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) February 15, 2018
Where will the swearing in ceremony take place?
Cyril is expected to officially be made President in the National Assembly, based in Cape Town. Before Zuma’s resignation speech, MPs and political heavyweights were gathered in Cape Town in preparation for the motion of no confidence against him. However, Zuma decided to call it a day before it got to that stage.
So is Cyril definitely going to be President?
Well, it’s not technically a formality. There is still a chance that things may not go according to plan. After all, we live in South Africa don’t we? Parliament still has to choose its nominee for the leadership; although it is fully expected that Cyril will get the nod, there could still be attempts from opposition parties to nominate other candidates.
If more than one person is nominated for the leadership, it comes down to a vote via secret ballot to determine who will lead the country. However, with the ANC set to fully back Ramaphosa, he is all but guaranteed the presidency.
