Zimbabwe coup: Mugabe's ruling party to discuss President's exit today

On Saturday, thousands march in solidarity with military, demand Robert Mugabe's exit

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party will meet on Sunday to discuss removing him as president, a government MP and a party official told AFP.

"There's a central committee meeting (on Sunday) to endorse the resolutions reached by the provinces," said the MP.

The parliamentarian, who declined to be named, referred to the decision by eight of the party's ten regional committees yesterday to call for Mugabe to resign as president and party leader.

"Yes we are meeting (Sunday) to endorse the decisions of the nine provinces," said the party official who confirmed that a further region had called on Mugabe to go since yesterday's announcement.

"We are also recalling him as the president and first secretary of the party," said the source who also declined to be named.

The meeting comes after tens of thousands of overjoyed protesters flooded Zimbabwe's streets today, celebrating the crumbling of Mugabe's ruthless regime which had controlled the country for nearly 40 years.

The mass turnout came after an unprecedented week in which the military seized power and put Mugabe under house arrest in response to his sacking of vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa.