ANC deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe is expected to be elected the country's new president in parliament today.

Motlanthe - who became an MP recently - will replace ex-president Thabo Mbeki who stepped down after the ANC recalled him.

The ANC recalled Mbeki after Pietermaritzburg high court Judge Chris Nicholson inferred that the president had politically interfered in the charging of the ANC president Jacob Zuma by the national prosecution authority.

Motlanthe was nominated by the ANC caucus on Monday as their preferred candidate for presidency.

His nomination was seen as an attempt by the party to bring about unity within its structures. Motlanthe was recently involved in a public spat with Zuma loyalist and ANC Youth League president Julius Malema.

He accused the youth leadership of making reckless statements. But Malema has since endorsed Motlanthe's nomination.

Meanwhile, the DA said yesterday that it has nominated its federal chairman Joe Seremane to stand as candidate for the presidency.

Seremane, who was rejected by DA members to lead the party at the federal congress in Midrand last year, said yesterday that he was "hopeful."

"I feel humbled that my colleagues have nominated me," he said. "This nomination should be a signal to the marginalised that anybody, irrespective of their tribe, can lead the country."

The voting for the president will take place in the National Assembly at 11.00am. Chief Justice Pius Langa is expected to preside over the proceedings. The swearing in of the president-elect is expected to take place at Tuynhuys on the same afternoon.

The new president is expected to announce the cabinet soon after being sworn in.