Move for secret vote on president

A proposed constitutional amendment by the Inkatha Freedom Party to have the president removed by secret ballot will soon come before parliament.

IFP MP Narend Singh has vowed to fight for the amendment that will give the National Assembly the power to fire the president.

"There is no secret-ballot requirement to remove the president, or pass a vote of no confidence, even though he/she is elected by secret ballot," said Singh. "It is a constitutional anomaly."

It would give the opposition an opportunity to exploit divisions in the governing party, whose MPs would be able to vote according to conscience.

Singh's proposal came during a sitting of a sub-committee of parliament's rules committee, which has proposed tightening rules after six months of the Economic Freedom Fighters running amok and challenging the conventions of parliament.

ANC MP Richard Mdakane, who chaired the subcommittee, denied that proposed changes were a crackdown on the EFF.

"The EFF is not a big issue for us. It is a passing phase," he said.

"The ANC will be open to opposition proposals but in the end the rule changes will be put to a vote."

The ANC proposals include:

More power for the speaker on "unforeseen eventualities";

Empower the speaker to request a party leader to remove a party whip "if good cause exists". It follows spats between National Assembly speaker Baleka Mbete and EFF chief whip Floyd Shivambu;

Allow the ANC chief whip to decide the agenda for the day.

Tighter rules on appropriate clothing;

The speaker to be able to have MPs searched and screened;

A firm definition of "gross disorderly conduct";

That MPs may speak only once the speaker has allowed them to,;

That the television feed from the National Assembly will still be cut in case of disorder and the speaker will still be allowed to cut the microphones of MPs;

Making it more difficult to raise points of order. The EFF has used this as a delaying tactic; and

Moves to stop filibustering, a delaying tactic the DA and EFF used last year.

The EFF was represented in the meeting by Shivambu, Godrich Gardee and Hlengiwe Maxon.

Gardee said he left it to South Africans to judge whether the proposals were aimed at the EFF.

"Have such draconian plans ever been contemplated before? Were parliamentary rules changed when Madiba started wearing his shirts? Of course not. If they take us on our clothing, we will take them to the same judge who swore us in in our overalls," he said, referring to Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng.