JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's former Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota and other ruling ANC officials are expected to announce the formation of a breakaway party on Wednesday, a radio report said.
The officials, loyal to Thabo Mbeki who was forced to resign as South African president last month by the executive of the African National Congress, would make a statement at 9 a.m. British time, said Talk Radio 702.
Mbeki's resignation at the climax of a political struggle with ANC leader Jacob Zuma marked the biggest political upheaval in the party's history.
A split is likely to create political uncertainty that would make investors in Africa's biggest economy nervous.
Speculation has been growing about a possible split despite efforts by new President Kgalema Motlanthe and other ANC leaders to dismiss such talk.
Any new party could be hard pressed to win over voters and funding ahead of an election due in April in a country where politics has been completely dominated by the ANC since the end of apartheid in 1994.
Lekota, who resigned as defence minister after Mbeki's removal, has accused the ANC of stifling dissent and flouting the rule of law.
(Reporting by Michael Georgy)
