By Angela Quintal
President Thabo Mbeki's decision to step down from office as head of state at the request of his party will not usher in an early election.
That much is clear from Saturday's press conference by ANC Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe, who stressed that the ruling party would not opt for an early poll.
Although Mantashe did not say so, the internal conflict and squabbling in the ANC means the ruling party is in no shape to fight an election just yet, so the country will have a third president before the 2009 poll.
So who will take over from Mbeki?
Although deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka's office said on Saturday she would step down if the president went, among the options being considered is whether she should serve as acting president.
This could be done in terms of the constitution which deals with a vacancy, such as when a president resigns, is absent from the republic or dies in office.
The order of hierarchy is that the deputy president serves as acting president, but if she declines, the president can designate a minister, or members of cabinet can designate one.
If these options are not possible, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Baleka Mbete, serves, after taking an oath of office.
However, a parliamentary official said on Saturday that this could be short-lived, since if a vacancy occurs, the Speaker of the National Assembly would write a letter to the chief justice notifying him of this, who in turn would decide on a time and date when an election would be held in the National Assembly to fill the vacancy.
This can be done immediately, but not more than 30 days after the vacancy occurs.
It is the 400-member National Assembly that elects the president from its own ranks by a simple majority.
The successful MP would then have to resign his or her seat as an MP and would be known as the president-elect.
An inauguration would be held a few days later, presided over by the chief justice or a judge designated by him.
Mbete has been tipped as the likely candidate, given that ANC deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe does not have the support of Zuma hardliners.
Alternatively, the ANC could amend one of its provincial to national lists to allow Zuma to return to the National Assembly as an MP before being appointed president.
Zuma, however, is said not to want to become president in this way, so Mbete is likely to be elected, given that the ANC has a huge majority in parliament.
The National Assembly is scheduled to sit tomorrow, Tuesday and Thursday, so conceivably the country's president-elect could be known as early as tomorrow.
Instead of travelling to New York to attend the United Nation's General Assembly in New York today, Mbeki will officiate over his last cabinet meeting at the Union Building at 5pm.
By opting to resign, and avoiding a possible impeachment process, Mbeki retains all the benefits due to him as a former head of state, including his pension.