South Africa’s ruling party has called a meeting of its top body for Wednesday, amid growing pressure on President Jacob Zuma to stand down.
In a statement, the ANC said that the meeting was called to discuss the “management of the transition” between the Zuma and Ramaphosa administrations.
On Monday, senior politicians held an emergency meeting in Johannesburg to discuss Mr Zuma’s future.
The president has resisted calls to quit over corruption allegations.
Mr Zuma, 75, was replaced as party leader in December, and his deputy and successor, Cyril Ramaphosa, 65, would step into the presidency if he were recalled by the ANC.
An ANC spokeswoman told Reuters news agency that the removal of President Zuma was not on the agenda at Monday’s meeting.
The president, in power since 2009, is due to make a state of the nation address on Thursday, and some in the party want Mr Zuma to leave office ahead of that speech.
On Wednesday the ANC’s National Executive Committee will meet.
If the committee agrees to recall Mr Zuma, the BBC’s Andrew Harding says, it would be very hard for him to resist.
He might even face a no-confidence motion in parliament the next day, our correspondent adds.
Mr Zuma, who spent time in prison for his part in the fight against apartheid, met the ANC’s top six on Sunday. They are said to have failed to convince him to stand aside.
Julius Malema, an opposition leader and former ANC member, said on Twitter that Mr Zuma had refused to go early.
Other unconfirmed reports from Sunday’s meeting say that Mr Zuma asked for protection from prosecution for himself and his family.
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Source: BBC