JOHANNESBURG — President Jacob Zuma of South Africa on Tuesday held direct talks for the first time with Cyril Ramaphosa, the politician who has been trying to force him to step down as the nation’s leader, suggesting that details were being worked out for a transfer of power.

On Tuesday night, the governing African National Congress abruptly canceled a meeting at which the party’s top decision-making body had been expected to discuss Mr. Zuma’s future as president on Wednesday.

Ace Magashule, the party’s secretary general, told local news media that the meeting had been canceled after “constructive discussions” between Mr. Zuma and Mr. Ramaphosa, who was elected leader of the governing African National Congress in December. The meeting’s cancellation, as well as the postponement of a state of the nation address that Mr. Zuma had been scheduled to deliver on Thursday, would give them a “further chance to talk,” Mr. Magashule said.

The direct talks signaled a possible turn of events in the power struggle between Mr. Zuma and Mr. Ramaphosa. With Mr. Zuma’s term ending in mid-2019, the two men and their allies, representing two centers of power, have been clashing over when Mr. Zuma should step down to give way to Mr. Ramaphosa.