Mbete ‘too conflicted’ for Zuma debate
Opposition parties in Parliament want Deputy Speaker Lechesa Tsenoli to oversee the motion of no confidence debate against President Jacob Zuma, saying Speaker Baleka Mbete is too conflicted because she has advanced the ANC line. The debate is scheduled to take place on August 8.
Opposition parties in Parliament want Deputy Speaker Lechesa Tsenoli to oversee the motion of no confidence debate against President Jacob Zuma, saying Speaker Baleka Mbete is too conflicted because she has advanced the ANC line.
The debate is scheduled to take place on August 8.
Political parties have until Friday to make submissions on whether or not they want the vote to be conducted through a secret ballot.
The United Democratic Movement (UDM), the EFF, the DA, the African Christian Democratic Party, the Congress of the People, Inkatha Freedom Party, and the African People’s Convention presented a united front at a joint briefing on the issue in Pretoria on Thursday. UDM leader Bantu Holomisa read out a joint statement from the opposition parties in which they detailed why Mbete was too conflicted to oversee the motion of no confidence debate.
“We note her [Mbete’s] instructions to the ANC MPs to vote in favour of their president; the speaker is patently biased and, therefore, compromised,” Holomisa said.
The opposition parties were clear that Mbete could not preside over the debate. They said that in addition to advancing the ANC line, she would be acting president if the motion succeeded, reinforcing the belief that she was conflicted and had to recuse herself from the process.
The opposition parties are pushing for the vote to take place in a secret ballot, believing there are ANC MPs who would vote against Zuma.