After rejecting calls for her to recuse herself from the debate on a motion to impeach President Jacob Zuma‚ National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete suddenly left her seat and was replaced by her deputy‚ Lechesa Tsenoli.
Mbete had earlier made it clear that she had no intention of recusing herself.
Opposition parties had called for her to stand down and let Tsenoli preside over the debate arguing that she was the chief presiding officer of the National Assembly and that the Constitutional Court had found that President Jacob Zuma and the National Assembly had violated the Constitution.
Mbete however maintained that there was nothing in the rules or the Constitution that compelled her to step down.
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