Africa-Press – South-Africa. President Cyril Ramaphosa will face his first motion of no confidence on Wednesday and it will be voted on by open ballot. But it will be without the ATM, who will not participate in their own motion.
On Tuesday, National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula indicated that she declined the ATM’s request to postpone its motion.
The ATM asked for a postponement after the Western Cape High Court on Monday found that their application to review Mapisa-Nqakula’s decision to have the motion voted on by open ballot was not urgent.
“The Speaker advised the ATM that, as the power to postpone items on the agenda of the Assembly resided with the National Assembly Programming Committee, she could not unilaterally accede to their request,” said a statement from Parliamentary spokesperson Moloto Mothapo.
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“The Speaker referred the ATM to Rule 90, that of anticipation, that provides, amongst others, that no member may anticipate the discussion of a matter appearing on an order paper or agreed upon by the programme committee for scheduling.
“In this regard, the implication of the ATM’s motion is that it will remain on the Order Paper, thereby blocking other similar motions. The Speaker has a duty to protect the rights of other parties to move motions of no confidence in the President.”
He further said that Rule 128 allowed the withdrawal and resubmission of a motion, ensuring no other party or member would be prejudiced by a motion remaining in an order paper for an undetermined period.
He said Mapisa-Nqakula gave the ATM until 15:00 on Tuesday to indicate its decision in the light of her advice, and that there was no response received from the party by the deadline.
ATM leader Vuyolwethu Zungula tweeted his response to Mapisa-Nqakula, in which he stood by his previous contention that the matter was sub judice. He rejected the suggestion to withdraw the motion, but said the ATM would not participate “in this unlawful conduct”.
The DA’s motion against Cabinet was also scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. This motion, in the unlikely event that it passes, would remove only the Cabinet while Ramaphosa would stay in his post.
At the end of 2020, Mapisa-Nqakula’s predecessor Thandi Modise allowed the ATM to postpone its motion pending the outcome of a court processes.
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The ATM then also asked the court to review Modise’s decision to have an open ballot. The Western Cape High Court dismissed the application, but the Supreme Court of Appeal found it was a “fundamentally flawed” approach by Modise to place the onus on ATM to motivate why the motion of no confidence should be by secret ballot.
The court ordered Mapisa-Nqakula, who had swapped roles with Modise by then, to make a “fresh decision”. The ATM subsequently resubmitted the motion, again with the request for a secret ballot.
The ATM charged that the political environment was “toxic”, necessitating a secret ballot.
Mapisa-Nqakula, like her predecessor, disagreed.
The chances that either motion would get the required votes to pass are slim.
The sitting is scheduled to start at 14:00.
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