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JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The Latest on South Africa's ruling party meeting (all times local):
6:40 p.m.
South Africa's president says he has met with all of the candidates to succeed him as ruling party leader and that all agreed to abide by the choice made by thousands of delegates this weekend.
President Jacob Zuma spoke after warnings that the decision could split the African National Congress. The new party leader is expected to become South Africa's next president in the 2019 elections.
Zuma endorsed no candidate, saying any of the seven can make a "first-class president."
The two front-runners are Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and former chair of the African Union Commission, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who is also Zuma's ex-wife.
The president also says "I bear no grudge" against those who have urged him to step down in recent months amid multiple corruption allegations.
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5:20 p.m.
South Africa's president is admitting "failures" of the weakening ruling party but is defending its worth in the face of a possible split, saying the party of Nelson Mandela continues to stand for millions of people on the fringes of society.
President Jacob Zuma is speaking to an African National Congress gathering to replace him as party leader at the end of his term and after months of growing anger over multiple scandals. The party's choice likely will become South Africa's next president in 2019 elections.
"A heavy responsibility lies upon the shoulders of delegates here ... to renew our movement and to restore its timeless values," Zuma says.
He is rejecting the party's "petty squabbles" that have distracted the ANC's work and says the challenges to inclusion are "killing our movement."
"People are not happy with the state of the ANC," he says.
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5:10 p.m.
South Africa's scandal-prone president is asserting that "theft and corruption" in the private sector is just as bad as in government.
President Jacob Zuma is warning that the ruling party cannot allow business interests to sway its work. He points out warnings that the African National Congress could "implode" and urges unity, saying "greed is posing a serious threat."
Zuma is addressing an ANC meeting to replace him as party leader after months of growing anger over his close associates the Gupta family. The Guptas are under investigation for influencing Cabinet appointments and leveraging their friendship with Zuma to land government contracts.
The ANC has been weakened by the growing public frustration. The economy has suffered.
Zuma says that "being black and successful is being made synonymous to being corrupt."
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4:45 p.m.
South Africa's scandal-prone president says "we must attend to enormous challenges facing our movement" as the ruling party meets to replace him as leader.
President Jacob Zuma is addressing the gathering whose choice of leader likely will become the country's next president in 2019 elections.
Growing anger at the numerous allegations of corruption against Zuma has weakened the liberation movement of Nelson Mandela.
Observers warn that if the ANC doesn't repair its reputation it could split and be forced into a coalition government for the first time since taking power in 1994 at the end of white minority rule.
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4:30 p.m.
South Africa's ruling party conference to choose a new leader is beginning with emotional calls for unity in the face of tensions that threaten to split the liberation movement of Nelson Mandela.
"Anything divisive, comrades, will not be allowed in this conference," the chair of the African National Congress, Baleka Mbete, tells the thousands of delegates.
They have gathered to replace President Jacob Zuma, whose multiple scandals have led to growing frustration in sub-Saharan Africa's most developed nation.
Observers warn that if the ANC doesn't repair its reputation it could split and be forced into a coalition government for the first time since taking power in 1994 at the end of white minority rule.
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3:35 p.m.
The fight to replace South Africa's scandal-prone President Jacob Zuma has begun as thousands of delegates of the ruling African National Congress meet to elect a new leader.
The reputation of Nelson Mandela's liberation movement has been battered during the tenure of Zuma, whose second term as party president is up. The new ANC leader is likely to become South Africa's next president in 2019 elections.
The two clear front-runners are Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, former chair of the African Union Commission and Zuma's ex-wife.
Voters are frustrated with the ANC as Zuma's administration has been mired in scandal. Observers say the party needs to restore its reputation or it could be forced into a governing coalition for the first time.
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11:10 a.m.
The start of a crucial meeting of South Africa's ruling party has been delayed.
Organizers say the African National Congress gathering to replace scandal-prone President Jacob Zuma now will begin at 2 p.m. (1200 GMT).
The reputation of Nelson Mandela's liberation movement has been battered during the tenure of Zuma, whose second term as party president is up.
The new ANC leader is likely to become South Africa's next president in 2019 elections, but observers say the party needs to restore its reputation or it could be forced into a governing coalition for the first time.
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10 a.m.
The fight to replace South Africa's scandal-prone President Jacob Zuma is set to begin as thousands of delegates of the ruling African National Congress gather to elect a new leader.
The reputation of Nelson Mandela's liberation movement has been battered during the tenure of Zuma, whose second term as party president is up. The new ANC leader is likely to become South Africa's next president in 2019 elections.
The two clear front-runners are Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, former chair of the African Union Commission and Zuma's ex-wife.
Voters are frustrated with the ANC as Zuma's administration has been mired in scandal and corruption allegations. Observers say the party needs to restore its reputation or it could be forced into a governing coalition for the first time.
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