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| Cyril Ramaphosa |
Cyril
Ramaphosa was confirmed as the new President of South Africa on
Thursday just hours after the scandal-plagued Jacob Zuma resigned from
office.
Ramaphosa, the leader of the ruling African National Congress party since December, was the only candidate nominated.
The
announcement was met with singing and dancing by some members of the
National Assembly in Cape Town, though members of the opposition
Economic Freedom Fighters party walked out of the chamber in protest
during the debate.
Parliament had been due to hold a no-confidence vote on Thursday to remove Zuma from office.
In
a nationally televised address on Wednesday night, Zuma announced his
resignation, saying he had been disturbed about the "instances of
violence" outside the party's headquarters.
"No
life should be lost in my name and also the ANC should never be divided
in my name. I have therefore come to the decision to resign as
President of the Republic with immediate effect," Zuma said.
"Even
though I disagree with the decision of the Leadership of my
organization, I have always been a disciplined member of the ANC," he
added.
Ramaphosa's elevation to
president caps a dramatic week that saw Zuma, dogged by corruption
allegations for years, effectively pushed out of office by his own
party. Zuma denies all of the corruption allegations against him.
Second chance at the presidency
The
65-year-old Ramaphosa -- who, as deputy president, became interim
president immediately after Zuma's resignation on Wednesday -- made his
name as a trade union leader during the apartheid era and as the chief
negotiator for Nelson Mandela, helping to shepherd the country out of
white minority rule in the 1990s.
When
Mandela's presidency came to a close, he made it clear that he wanted
Ramaphosa to succeed him. But Ramaphosa lost the race to lead the ANC --
and therefore the country -- to Thabo Mbeki, another anti-apartheid
leader who returned to South Africa after living in exile.
Ramaphosa left government afterward and made his fortune in the business world.
Ramaphosa (L) and Zuma during Zuma's swearing-in ceremony on May 25, 2014 in Pretoria.
However,
since returning to public life he has spoken out against corruption in
the country and has found significant support in urban areas, in the
business community and among ANC stalwarts.
Ramaphosa was elected to head the ANC in December with a pledge to tackle corruption and the myriad of other problems facing the country.
"We
want to clean up South Africa so that we can begin to make it more
attractive to investors but at the same time to deal with the issues
that are impeding growth," Ramaphosa told CNN's Christiane Amanpour in
an interview last month.
Ramaphosa
said he believed his anti-corruption campaign would reinvigorate
supporters of the ANC who were previously disillusioned with the party.
"This is not a flash in the pan," Ramaphosa said. "We are going to make sure that we do not disappoint our people."
Source: CNN
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