CAPE TOWN, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Growing calls for South African President Jacob Zuma to resign, especially those made by the opposition, are not so much about removing the president by rather dislodging the ruling African National Congress (ANC) itself from power, the party said on Monday.
The ANC should focus on the task at hand -- eliminating poverty, inequality and unemployment, the party said in a statement after the ANC's National Executive Committee (NEC) concluded its three-day meeting in Pretoria.
"We must also focus on ensuring unity and stability of the organization as part of leadership transition at the 54th National Conference", scheduled for December this year to discuss the succession to Zuma, the party said in a statement emailed to Xinhua.
The NEC meeting received the Political Overview from the president, the National Working Committee (NWC) report, and reports on the ANC's engagements with traditional leadership and preparations towards the National Conference.
There was a call made in the NEC for Zuma to consider stepping down as president, ANC Secretary General Gwete Mantashe acknowledged in the statement.
A motion to recall Zuma was defeated at the NEC meeting, sources close to the meeting disclosed.
The NEC meeting considered calls for Zuma to resign to be part of a broader discussion characterized by the restlessness manifesting itself in society, where certain sections have made similar calls, Mantashe said.
A number of NEC members were of the view that the ANC should listen to this call, he said.
Various contributions in support of and against the appeal to the president to step down were raised, according to Mantashe.
"Many more were neither in favor nor against the appeal but emphasized the need for unity within the organization," he said.
"Flowing from this difficult discussion, our branches are now directed to focus on their primary tasks, work together and ensure the ANC impacts positively on society," Mantashe added. Speaking of the motion of no confidence against Zuma proposed in Parliament, Mantashe said the NEC reaffirmed its confidence in ANC MPs, trusting that they would continue to conduct themselves in line with Constitution, prescripts and norms of the ANC.
The opposition has fielded an application to the Constitutional Court, seeking a ruling for a secret ballot.
"Regardless of whether a secret ballot is granted by the court or not, ANC MPs, as always, are expected to vote in line with the decision of the Caucus of the ANC," Mantashe said.
Failure to do so is in violation of the party line and would be defined an act of misconduct, acting on behalf of or in collaboration with counter-revolutionary forces, Mantashe said.
