SOUTH African opposition parties vowed to “shut down” the country if their demands for President Jacob Zuma to be replaced are not met.

The calls by the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) sought to pre-empt ongoing talks between Mr Zuma and his deputy Cyril Ramaphosa on a “transition.”

Mr Ramaphosa was elected president of the ruling ANC at December’s conference, setting him up as the party’s presidential candidate at the May 2019 general election.