Thousands of people marched in South Africa's capital Pretoria on Wednesday to protest against President Jacob Zuma to quit, keeping up pressure from the streets on the leader over his handling of the struggling economy.
The protesters marched through the city and held a rally at a field outside the Union Buildings, the site of Zuma's offices.
Zuma, who turned 75 on Wednesday, has survived previous protests. But the main opposition party Democratic Alliance (DA) and other parties behind the protest believe they can drum up support to force Zuma out of office following his dismissal of respected Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan in a cabinet reshuffle.
South Africa's economy has been inactive over the last six years and the jobless rate stands near record levels. Analysts say the political crisis is making it hard to reform the economy, improve social services and fight crime.
The ruling African National Congress (ANC) party has rejected calls for Zuma to step down. He has denied repeated allegations of corruption since winning power in 2009. More than 60,000 people marched on Friday calling for him to quit.
The ultra-left Economic Freedom Fighters and other parties took part in Wednesday's protest, dubbed "National Day of Action". The opposition has called for a no-confidence vote against Zuma in parliament on April 18.
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