President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa has agreed to resign following orders from the ruling ANC party. A statement from the presidency said Mr Mbeki would step down "after all constitutional requirements have been met.”

Parliament is due to meet in the coming days to formalize the resignation procedure and is likely to appoint the parliamentary speaker as acting head of state.

The ANC's top-level National Executive Committee had earlier today decided to "recall" Mr Mbeki before the end of his office next year because of a power struggle with Jacob Zuma, who succeeded him as party leader.

The announcement appeared to signal the end of the final battle in the president’s long-running war with Mr Zuma, his heir apparent.

Mr Mbeki has been under pressure to quit after a judge ruled last week he may have had a role in bringing corruption charges against Mr Zuma.

Earlier today Gwede Mantashe, the ANC secretary-general, had said Mr Mbeki would remain president until an interim one is appointed, but that parliament would meet soon to formalise the process.

He said Mr Mbeki would also continue to mediate in Zimbabwe, where last week he persuaded President Robert Mugabe to share power with the opposition.

If other key Cabinet ministers decide to quit in solidarity with Mr Mbeki, there could be turmoil in Africa’s economic and political powerhouse. All eyes are on Trevor Manuel, the Finance Minister who shares the credit with Mr Mbeki for South Africa’s sustained economic growth and investor-friendly policies over the past decade.

Several key government executives, including Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the Deputy President, have indicated they would follow Mr Mbeki out if he were forced to resign. Mr Mlambo-Ngcuka had replaced Mr Zuma as the country’s second executive after Mr Mbeki sacked Mr Zuma in 2005 because of the corruption scandal.

Mr Mantashe said a high-level committee “decided to recall the president of the republic before his term of office expires.” He added that Mr Mbeki had accepted the news. The president “did not display shock ... he welcomed the news and agreed that he is going to participate in the process and the formalities.”

If Mr Mbeki had decided to resist the party's pressure on him, he could have faced a confidence vote in parliament and the humiliation of being formally rejected by his own party.

South Africans select parties, not individuals, in presidential, legislative and other voting. That puts a premium on party loyalty and discipline and allows politicians to make what might seem to the outside world revolutionary changes quickly. But in this case, South Africans have been expecting the shift from Mr Mbeki to Mr Zuma at least since late last year, when Mr Zuma beat his former mentor in an internal election for the ANC leadership.

Mr Mbeki did not attended the party meetings that started Friday and went on all night to decide his fate.

Mr Mantashe said Mr Zuma was meeting with Cabinet ministers to persuade them to remain in government. He said the top priority was to focus on “ensuring the smooth running of the country.”

Mr Mbeki succeeded Nelson Mandela in 1999 and was due to stand down next year. He has devoted his life to the ANC and is regarded as one of Africa’s most respected statesmen.

During his presidency he has promoted what he calls Africa’s renaissance and mediated in conflicts ranging from Sudan to Ivory Coast and Congo.

After years of his quiet diplomacy being criticized as ineffective, and in the case of Zimbabwe biased toward Mr Mugabe, he persuaded the Zimbabwean president to share power with his opposition last week. Mr Mugabe’s retreat after nearly three decades of unchallenged power was significant, although talks on the formation of a coalition Cabinet have since deadlocked.

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