Mbeki resigns as South Africa's president
Thabo Mbeki has formally resigned as president of South Africa
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Sunday, 21, Sep 2008 07:37
Thabo Mbeki has formally resigned as president of South Africa.
In a televised address on Sunday, Mr Mbeki said he had handed his letter of resignation to the speaker of the national assembly.
On Saturday, the governing African National Congress (ANC) party called for him to step down after a judge alleged he had somehow interfered in a case against the party's leader Jacob Zuma.
Mr Mbeki's national address came after he called an emergency cabinet meeting and said he would leave his position as soon as a new president was chosen.
Mr Mbeki and Mr Zuma have been locked in a bitter power struggle over the past two years, resulting in serious intra-party disputes.
In 2005, Mr Mbeki dismissed Mr Zuma as the country's deputy president over alleged corruption charges.
Mr Zuma then beat Mr Mbeki to become the leader of the dominant ANC party, which has ruled since the end of apartheid, and is widely tipped to become South Africa's next president.
Mr Mbeki has held the position since 1999 when he took over from Nelson Mandela.