Ramaphosa is now acting president

After Jacob Zuma’s resignation as president on Wednesday night, Cyril Ramaphosa automatically became acting president of the republic.

According to Section 90 of the Constitution, when there is a vacancy in the office of president, which there is after Zuma's resignation, the first person in line to act as president is the deputy president.

ANC will give Zuma reasons for recalling him

By resigning as president, Jacob Zuma has been spared from yet another vote of no confidence in Parliament, the ANC said on Thursday night.

"It has been going on for almost three to four years and we believe that we do need to give this comrade respect and also spare him the humiliation of the ongoing votes of no confidence that come to Parliament," ANC deputy secretary general Jessie Duarte said.

Speaking shortly after the resignation, Duarte welcomed the move and said Zuma was well within his rights to ask the party for the reasons that led to him being recalled.

From 'rejoicing' to 'good riddance', opposition parties react to Zexit

The Democratic Alliance says it is "rejoicing" at the news that Jacob Zuma has resigned as president, while the United Democratic Movement says "good riddance".

Zuma announced on Wednesday evening that, although he does not agree with his decision, he will resign as president of the republic effective immediately.

"We rejoice with all South Africans today as the long, painful decade of Zuma's presidency finally comes to an end," DA leader Mmusi Maimane said in a statement late on Wednesday, after the announcement.

Twitter reacts to Zuma's resignation

Jacob Zuma has resigned as president of South Africa - and Twitter had a lot to say. 

Save SA urges new leadership to get 'us out of the hole' dug by Zuma

Civil society group Save South Africa said it was delighted with the resignation of President Jacob Zuma on Wednesday night.

The group said it relished the "demise" of Zuma and saluted South Africans who put aside their differences and worked together to put pressure on Zuma and the ruling party.

"We are absolutely delighted to see the back of the worst president this country has ever seen. We look forward to seeing him again in court, and soon, to face justice for his multitude of crimes against the people of South Africa," Save South Africa said in a statement on Wednesday night.

Watch the moment Jacob Zuma resigned as SA president

FULL STATEMENT: 

SACP welcomes President Zuma's belated resignation

The SACP joins the great majority of South Africans, not least comrades across our Alliance in welcoming President Jacob Zuma’s belated resignation. This is something that should have happened a long time ago. 

The levels of parasitic looting of public resources that have occurred under President Zuma’s watch, the firing of ministers who have stood in his way, the erosion of the hard won rule of law, the perversion of key state institutions notably in the criminal justice system, the manipulation of the public broadcaster, and the auctioning off of our national sovereignty in the pursuit of private accumulation have caused huge damage to our country.

The principal victims of the state capture agenda in which President Zuma has been central has had a particularly devastating impact on the working class and the rural and urban poor.

In welcoming this long overdue resignation there are many lessons to be learnt.

In the first place, this was not a willing stepping-down. Only a protracted struggle from within the ANC and its alliance has finally dislodged this President gone wrong.

The SACP is proud of the role that we have played in this respect from within the Alliance and indeed from within the ANC caucus.

We also take this occasion to salute the role that many others have played in this development – including the important role of many fine journalists. Going forward, we must be under no illusions that the struggle against corporate capture of the state, and against the looting of public resources, has ended.

Today an important breakthrough has been achieved. President Zuma’s resignation must now become a bridge-head for pursuing further action. The momentum of self-correction from within the ANC and state must be sustained and accelerated.  

Never again must we allow an individual, whatever their struggle credentials, to stand above organisational discipline, collective leadership and the democratic rule of law.

One of the critical tasks South Africans need to complete as we move forward is that of intensifying the battle to dismantle parallel state mechanisms, including rogue intelligence units and associted parasitic networks.

Rogue intelligence is more likely going to be used to try and tarnish the image of sections of the leadership of our movement and civil society. 

ANC welcomes Zuma's resignation

The ANC on Thursday night accepted President Jacob Zuma's resignation as head of state.

Speaking shortly after the resignation, deputy secretary general Jessie Duarte said Zuma's decision to resign was consistent with his organisation.

"This decision by President Zuma is consistent with what he had said earlier today that he has never and will never defy his organisation, the African National Congress."

Zuma quits under cloud of scandals

President Jacob Zuma resigned on Wednesday, bringing an end to his scandal-marred tenure and leaving the nation’s leadership in the hands of the ruling African National Congress’s new leader, Cyril Ramaphosa.

"The ANC should never be divided in my name,” Zuma said in a televised address to the nation.

"I have therefore come to the decision to resign as the president of the republic with immediate effect."

Zuma spoke after the ANC announced it would hold a parliamentary vote of no confidence in him on Thursday.

Calls for him to quit had grown since Ramaphosa replaced him as ANC leader in December, and his fate was sealed when the party’s National Executive Committee decided on Monday to order him to step down.

#ZumaResigns: I do not fear impeachment or no confidence vote, says Zuma

I don't fear a no confidence vote or impeachment, President Jacob Zuma said, announcing his resignation on Wednesday night.

"I have therefore come to the decision to resign as president of the republic with immediate effect. While I disagree with the leadership, I have always been a loyal cadre." 

Zuma announced his resignation as state president in a late night media briefing at the Union Buildings.

Speaking in Zulu, Zuma said that he was not a stubborn and that he was not "scared of stepping down", but simply wanted his rights to be respected. 

FULL STATEMENT: 

DA rejoices at Jacob Zuma’s resignation

The DA welcomes Jacob Zuma’s overdue resignation as President. We rejoice with all South Africans today as the long, painful decade of Zuma’s presidency finally comes to an end.

Jacob Zuma did untold harm to our country. More people are unemployed than ever before, and more people live in poverty than when he came into office.

On his watch, corruption has been allowed to flourish to the point of nearly destroying our country and completely capturing the state and the prosecution system.

That will forever be his shameful legacy.Even in his resignation speech tonight, he refused to take any responsibility for his actions, and for the harm he caused the country.

Such shameless disdain requires a level of pathology that reveals Jacob Zuma’s true nature.

He must now face the 783 criminal charges still awaiting him before the Courts. There can be no amnesty or immunity for Jacob Zuma.There were over half a dozen Motions of No Confidence across almost 1000 days where the ANC had opportunities to rid South Africa of Jacob Zuma and his toxic corrupt web.

Now that the ANC have done what they should have done almost three years ago, we expect the 783 charges awaiting him to be prosecuted and for justice to prevail.Zuma built a deep system of corruption that has penetrated every part of the government and the criminal prosecution system.

These criminal networks run deep, and will not be easy to uproot. It will take more than talk of a New Deal.

After getting rid of Zuma, the ANC must show serious intent to rid itself of other corrupt individuals, like DD Mabuza, Ace Magashule, Pule Mabe and many others.

We need total change to enforce 15-year minimum sentences on anyone found guilty of corruption and the South African Police Service must be professionalised so that they can become the trusted custodians of our safety.

Let’s never forget that every sign of Zuma’s future corruption was there for all to see before he was elected. Now the country looks to Cyril Ramaphosa to save us from a man that he and the ANC protected and supported.

We must never allow this to happen again.We believe that whomever is the new President requires a mandate from the public, and that South Africans should express themselves as to whether the ANC can be trusted to tackle corruption.

That is why we have called for the dissolution of parliament, along with other opposition parties. Only a DA government can bring the new beginning that South Africa so desperately needs.

Rand rallies to under R11.70/$ as Zuma says 'I resign'

The rand rallied to its highest level in more than two and half years on Wednesday evening after President Jacob Zuma finally bowed to pressure and resigned as the leader of the country.

"I have always been a disciplined member of the ANC," said Zuma, in announcing that he was stepping down with immediate effect. He did not take questions from the assembled media.  

If Zuma had not resigned, he would have faced a vote of no confidence in Parliament on Thursday.

Jacob Zuma resigns as president of South Africa

Jacob Zuma has resigned as president of South Africa. 

"I have...come to the decision to resign as the president of the republic with immediate effect," Zuma told reporters at the Union Buildings on Wednesday night. 

Zuma's time as president has been marked by controversy, ranging from his relationship with the controversial Gupta family, dropped charges of corruption and his acquittal on a charge of rape, to the upgrades to his Nkandla homestead.