Corruption: South Africa Lawmakers Vote to Determine President Zuma’s Fate

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, South Africa, Southern Africa Monday, August 7th, 2017

BALTIMORE, MD (AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The South African MPs will Tuesday vote in secret, following a motion of no-confidence on the embattled President Jacob Zuma.

Parliament’s Speaker Baleka Mbete who announced this made the ruling after opposition parties took the case to the Constitutional Court.

The calculation is that the ruling African National Congress (ANC) MPs would be more likely to vote against President Zuma in a secret ballot.

Ms Mbete’s decision took many by surprise and brought a new element of uncertainty into the proceedings against the embattled President.

Not less than 50 out of the ANC’s 249 MPs would need to vote against the President in order for the no-confidence motion to pass.

ANC MP Makhosi Khoza received death threats last month after she said she would vote against Zuma and described him as “a disgrace”.

Already, the opposition Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane calculated that with the secret ballot, the ANC MPs “have no excuse”.

The party said in a statement that the ANC would vote against the motion and not back the attempt to “collapse our democratically elected government”.

Meanwhile, the ruling ANC has described the no-confidence motion as a “political ploy” designed to remove the government “outside of general elections”.

This latest attempt to unseat Mr Zuma came after he fired his widely respected Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and other ministers in a major cabinet reshuffle in March, sparking nationwide protests.

He has since faced with the allegations of corruption and accusations that he has become too close to the wealthy Gupta family, who are accused of trying to influence political decisions, including the sacking of Mr Gordhan.

The troubled President has survived several votes of no-confidence in the past.

ANC has been in power in South Africa since the end of white-minority rule in 1994, and enjoys huge majority in the parliament.

President Zuma is due to step down as ANC leader in December this year. The likely successors include: his Deputy, Cyril Ramaphosa; Zuma’s ex-wife and favoured candidate, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.