Number of ANC rebels larger than first tallied
• • Division deeper than believed Push for action against dissenters
The number of ANC rebels in the party’s parliamentary caucus is much larger than initially tallied, underlining the division in the party and the vulnerability of President Jacob Zuma.
An overwhelming majority of ANC MPs voted in support of the president in the motion of no confidence brought by the DA and held via a secret ballot.
However, the number of ANC MPs who voted with the opposition, abstained or who failed to attend the sitting despite the three-line whip indicates that the division in the ANC is deeper than previously thought.
The top brass in the party addressed the caucus before the debate and spelled out the line of march. The leadership warned MPs the motion was intended to effect regime change and bring down the ANC, using Zuma as the mechanism.
A tally of the numbers, taking into account absentees from various parties and that several opposition MPs voted with the ANC, indicates 35 to 40 ANC MPs could have voted with the opposition or abstained. Zuma’s allies are now calling on those who voted against him to own up and be subjected to disciplinary processes.
In the final tally announced by Speaker Baleka Mbete, 198 MPs voted against the motion, 177 voted for it and nine abstained.
However, the opposition did not vote as a bloc.
DA chief whip John Steenhuisen confirmed that three of his party’s MPs had been absent. United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa said one UDM MP had been absent. The absentees were due to vacancies and a motor vehicle accident involving MPs last week.
The National Freedom Party vote, which has six MPs, was split, with three members voting with the ANC. The PAC stated during the debate that it did not support the motion and its sole MP abstained.
Of the opposition’s 151 MPs, about 143 were likely to have voted in favour of the motion.
This implies 34 ANC MPs voted with the opposition.
Of the nine abstentions, eight could have come from the ANC, making the total number of ANC MPs who did not vote against the motion as many as 42.
It is unclear how many ANC MPs missed the sitting as only 215 out of 249 (less the 11 known absentees of vacancies) signed the attendance register.
Minister of Small Business Development Lindiwe Zulu said on Wednesday all those from ANC ranks who had voted in favour of the motion should come forward and face party disciplinary processes.
They could not hide behind a secret ballot, she said.
The party was aware that there were members who were unhappy, but they should realise the opposition’s overall political plan was to destabilise the ANC and, ultimately, to remove it from power, Zulu said.
MPs voting against the party line set a precedent for future motions and votes in Parliament, she said.
The Umkhonto We Sizwe Military Veterans Association
echoed the call for those who voted against the president to be disciplined.
But ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe said the ballot had been held in secret and there was no way of telling how individual members had voted.
“Do they want us to conduct lie detector tests as the DA had done in Mogale [City in June]?” Mantashe asked.
Disciplinary action was on the cards for ANC MPs who did not pitch up for the session and did not tender an apology, Chief Whip Jackson Mthembu said.
Claims that the ANC had 238 MPs in Parliament on the day of the vote were not set in stone — it has five vacancies and six MPs tendered apologies.
Meanwhile, the DA has now moved to push for an early election. It will table a motion on Thursday for the dissolution of Parliament, said party leader Mmusi Maimane.
Mthembu said this was another indication Tuesday’s motion was intended to remove the ANC from power.