The impending resignation of Jacob Zuma as president of South Africa was not necessarily unexpected following the defeat of his preferred candidate in the African National Congress’s (ANC) elections for party leader. However, it is happening more quickly than many observers predicted, including this one.

The governing African National Congress (ANC) and its large parliamentary majority moved quickly to elect deputy president and current party leader Cyril Ramaphosa to state presidency.

Dozens of countries, constituting half the world’s population, will hold elections in 2024. Here are ten to watch.

The African National Congress (ANC) has governed South Africa since the end of apartheid and the transition to “non-racial” democracy in 1994. It has won more than 60 percent of vote in every national election since, though its share of the vote has been steadily declining. In a country fractured by race in which blacks—about 80 percent of the population—are much poorer than whites—about 9 percent—race is the largest factor in voting behavior.

On October 9, President Cyril Ramaphosa accepted the resignation of Nhlanhla Nene as finance minister. Critics are accusing Nene of lying about the frequency of his contacts with the notorious Gupta family, which is now being investigated for “state capture.”

Delegates of South Africa's ANC will cast a secret ballot to determine the party's new National Executive Committee at the end of December. The front-runners for party leader are Nkosazan Dlamini-Zuma and Cyril Ramaphosa.