The African National Congress in South Africa suspends former President Jacob Zuma from office Politics News

The suspension of the former South African president comes before the country's general elections.

South Africa's ruling African National Congress has decided to suspend former President Jacob Zuma weeks after he supported another party ahead of this year's general elections.

“Zuma and others whose behavior conflicts with our values ​​and principles will find themselves outside the African National Congress,” ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula said on Monday.

The decision, which was widely expected, will be seen as another sign of division in the movement ahead of general elections, in which the long-dominant ANC is expected to lose popularity.

Zuma was the fourth president of democratic South Africa, and held office from 2009 to 2018, but was forced to step down amid a cloud of corruption allegations, and became estranged from the party he once led.

In December, he announced that he would campaign for a new party, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) or Spear of the Nation, named after the former armed wing of the ANC during the struggle against apartheid.

Mbalula said that in addition to Zuma's suspension, the ANC could lodge a complaint with the Electoral Tribunal to cancel the registration of the new party and file a trademark appeal to restore the name.

“The formation of the MK Party is not a coincidence,” Mbalula announced after a meeting with the party’s national executive committee, attended by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

“It is a deliberate attempt to use the proud history of the armed struggle against apartheid to lend credibility to a blatantly counter-revolutionary agenda.”

According to what was reported by the South African Broadcasting Corporation a reportZuma has 48 hours to respond to the suspension.