Lawmakers halt effort to impeach president

JOHANNESBURG >> Lawmakers from South Africa's governing African National Congress put their weight behind President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday, rejecting an effort to proceed with an impeachment inquiry over accusations that he broke the law in his response to the theft of a large sum of U.S. currency from his farm.

The vote essentially kills an effort to remove Ramaphosa from office and lifts his political prospects just three days before the start of a national conference for his party, the ANC, at which he is expected to face a grueling battle to win a second term as party leader.

The ANC holds 230 of the 400 seats in Parliament, and his opponents fell far short of the 31 members they needed to break ranks and vote for impeachment hearings. In all, 214 members of Parliament voted against continuing with the inquiry, while 148 voted in favor of it.

Last week, the ANC's executive committee instructed its members to reject impeachment, making it difficult for any of them to vote the other way because the party appoints them to Parliament. Breaking with instructions could have serious repercussions within the organization, including losing their seats.