‘D’ Day for South Africa’s president over corruption claims

Opposition parties could point to the fact that the ANC had an ideal opportunity to remove Zuma and take a stand against corruption but didn’t use it, according to Dirk Kotze, a politics professor at the University of South Africa.

“We all have a choice today to do what is just, what is right and what is honorable”, Mmusi Maimane, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Alliance, said in the debate, which Zuma didn’t attend.

The lawmakers rejected the no-confidence vote against Zuma on Tuesday, with the ruling African National Congress (ANC) deputies breaking into song and dance to mark the victory of the embattled leader.

Although a number of analysts didn’t foresee that the motion would succeed, markets reacted positively on Monday on the back of Mbete’s announcement yesterday that the no confidence vote would be held by secret ballot.

Votes will be counted and audited and the secretary of the National Assembly will sign off the results and hand them over to the speaker.

Two groups of demonstrators, one supporting the call for President Zuma to be removed from office and the other against it, have been following Parliamentary proceedings since it began.

The ANC has 249 seats in the National Assembly. “We are not sellouts, we know who sent us here, we will vote ANC”, she said.

We strongly encourage ANC MP’s to search within themselves, put the people of the country first and to do the same. Zuma’s supporters were also planning to march. “I think those MPs must recall that they are the representatives of the people, and must therefore represent the people in terms of what they do this afternoon”, said Mbeki.

Also vying for the leadership is Cyril Ramaphosa, a former trade unionist and one of South Africa’s wealthiest politicians.

Members of the opposition EFF (Economic Freedom Fighters) during a march to the Union Buildings, calling for embattled president Zuma to step down, in Pretoria, South Africa.

Zuma has survived seven no confidence in the past seven years, all conducted by open ballot.

Members of the 400-seat parliament voted 198 to 177 with nine abstentions on Tuesday against the proposal to remove the president.

“Ours is not against the ANC, but against the father of Duduzane, because Duduzane’s father is the most corrupt individual in this country”, he said. Another major criticism raised during the parliamentary debate included allegations that he had allowed the state to be “captured” by the Guptas, an Indian business family that has been at the centre of a string of media exposés about graft in government and state-owned enterprises.