Zuma secret vote up to Mbete
Vote of no confidence belongs to the people
NATIONAL Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete will have to decide on whether a vote on a motion of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma should be conducted by secret ballot or not when the matter is tabled in parliament.
In a unanimous judgment read out by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng‚ the Constitutional Court yesterday said: “It is declared that the Speaker of the National Assembly has the constitutional power to prescribe that voting in a no confidence motion in the president be conducted by secret ballot.”
Mbete had argued that neither the constitution nor rules of the National Assembly allowed her to prescribe a secret ballot.
However, Mogoeng added a reminder to Mbete that the power she wielded belonged to “the people and must thus not be exercised arbitrarily or whimsically”.
“There must always be a proper and rational basis for whatever choice the speaker makes in the exercise of the constitutional power to determine the voting procedure,” Mogoeng said, warning that Mbete should ensure that her decision strengthened democracy and did not undermine it.
The Constitutional Court has sent the UDM’s request that the motion be decided through secret ballot back to Mbete to make a fresh decision, saying that for the apex court “to order a secret ballot would trench separation of powers”.
Mogoeng said Mbete should take into account the possibilities of corruption, the prevailing circumstances and how to allow MPs to exercise their vote without exposing them to illegitimate hardship.
“Whether the prevailing atmosphere is generally peaceful or toxified and highly charged is one of the important aspects of that decision-making process,” he explained.
The Institute for Security Studies had previously told the Constitutional Court that intimidation and threats against outspoken ANC MP Dr Makhosi Khoza were likely to constrain how she and other parliamentarians exercised their rights in a vote of no confidence.
The Council for the Advancement of the SA Constitution told the court that Mbete was in an irreconcilable conflict of interests because as ANC chair she could not seek that her party spoke with one voice while simultaneously, as speaker, acting impartially and ensuring that all MPs, including ANC members, voted according to their constitutional obligations.
Mogoeng said nowhere did the country’s supreme law provide for MPs to swear allegiance to their political parties. He added that the purpose of the motion of no confidence was to enhance enforcement of accountability by allowing MPs to express and act on their dissatisfaction with the executive’s performance.
According to Mogoeng, the speaker has a responsibility to balance party interests with the people’s – a difficult dual role, given the independence and impartiality required.
Reacting to the judgment, UDM leader Bantu Holomisa said: “You must understand that the speaker is conflicted so her lines are a little blurred. We can’t understand why she was protecting Zuma. This time around she will have to change her tactics a little bit.”
Political analyst Somadoda Fikeni said Mbete had no option but to allow a secret ballot, or come up with a superior reason as to why a secret ballot could not be allowed.
The court has ordered Zuma and Mbete to pay the legal bill, which the Dispatch understands could cost taxpayers more than R1-million. — TMG