Dlamini-Zuma's is a leading candidate to succeed South African President Jacob Zuma, her ex-husband, as ANC leader.
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, chairperson of the African Union Commission,
attends the Valletta Summit on Migration in Valletta, Malta, November
12, 2015.
African Union Commission head Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who is tipped to take over the leadership of South Africa's ruling African National Congress, will step down at the end of her four-year term in July, her spokesman said on Wednesday.
Dlamini-Zuma
did not submit an application to remain as chairperson for a second
term before the deadline for candidates closed last week, Jacob Enoh
Eben said.
"She is not seeking a second term as chair of the African Union Commission," he said.
The decision was personal, he said, without giving details.
Dlamini-Zuma's is a leading candidate to succeed South African President Jacob Zuma, her ex-husband, as ANC leader.
She
served as home affairs minister in Zuma's cabinet before becoming the
first female head of the Addis Ababa-based bloc's executive arm in 2012.
She had also previously served as minister of health and of foreign
affairs.
Zuma, who is expected to stay president
until an election in 2019 and is likely to be influential behind the
scenes in picking a new ANC leader at a conference in 2017, is expected
to support Dlamini-Zuma.
Deputy president Cyril
Ramaphosa is seen as another strong candidate to replace Zuma as party
head and has the support of powerful business lobbies.
The
African Union is expected to name Dlamini-Zuma's successor at a heads
of state gathering in the Rwandan capital Kigali in July. The bloc is
yet to disclose the names of contestants vying to replace her.
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