Speaker of the National Assembly Baleka Mbete has given the
go ahead for a secret ballot on tomorrow’s Motion of No Confidence debate
against President Jacob Zuma.
Making the announcement Mbete said she had taken “due and
impartial consideration of all the factors” in making her decision.
Mbete said she had carefully weighed many different factors
and interests, and in particular the considerations stressed by the
Constitutional Court when it delivered judgment on the application by
opposition parties who tried to force a secret ballot.
She noted that MPs owed a heavy debt to the public who
elected them, and were under no legal obligation to maintain allegiance to the
party they represented. And she added that the court had reminded all that a
vote of no confidence was a potent tool to hold the president to account.
"I therefore determine that voting on the motion of no
confidence in the President on August 8 will be by secret ballot," Mbete
told a media briefing.
She declined to answer any questions.
The vote on the motion of no confidence will take place on
Tuesday with opposition parties pushing for Zuma to be removed as president.
The same parties are gambling on disgruntled ANC MPs, that
are concerned about Zuma's leadership,
to possibly vote with them in the no confidence vote.
It is still not clear how many of the ANC MPs will take the
bait, but some like Makhosi Khoza and Mondli Gungubele have spoken out that
they would be guided by their consciences when they vote on Tuesday.
Mbete has been criticised for taking too long to make a
decision on the voting procedure.
The EFF had also warned that it would take Mbete to court
if she did not allow for secret ballot.
Opposition parties such as the UDM and EFF had pushed for
the vote to be held in secret to allow for ANC MPs to vote without the fear of
reprisal hanging over their heads.
Some members of the ANC have already called for
disciplinary action to be taken against ANC members who will not abide by the
party's decision not support the motion.
Last week ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu said voting
against Zuma would be like dropping a nuclear bomb on the country.
Several protests have been planned in Cape Town on Tuesday,
and thousands are expected to march for and against President Zuma.
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