South Africa's ruling party ordered Jacob Zuma on Tuesday to step down as head of state after marathon talks over the fate of a leader whose scandal-plagued years in power darkened and divided Nelson Mandela's post-apartheid "Rainbow Nation."

Leading members of the African National Congress now want new party leader Cyril Ramaphosa to replace Zuma as president, ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule told a news conference.

But the party's national executive was split on precisely when Zuma should go, Magashule added, leaving the president's immediate fate still hanging in the balance.