Nine parties want secret ballot in no-confidence motion

Nine opposition parties in the National Assembly want Speaker Baleka Mbete to agree to a secret ballot on the vote on a motion of no confidence against President Jacob Zuma.

This comes after Mbete had given all parties until July 14 to submit their views on whether or not voting should be held in secret on the motion of no confidence.

The motion of no confidence is set for debate on August 8 and the voting method has attracted a lot of controversy as opposition parties have argued for a secret vote to protect ANC MPs who may vote for Zuma to go.

ANC MP Makhosi Khoza has received numerous death threats due to her support of a secret vote.

She has also been advocating for members to vote with their conscience on the motion and not to follow the party’s directive.

Parliament spokesperson Moloto Mothapo‚ in a statement on Sunday‚ said nine of the 13 parties represented in Parliament had submitted their views to Mbete.

Surprisingly‚ the official opposition party‚ the Democratic Alliance‚ has not argued for a secret vote in their submission - instead it said it would abide by the Speaker’s decision.

The ANC too said it would abide by Mbete’s decision while the EFF has argued for a secret vote.

“The Speaker has expressed her appreciation to the parties for their submissions which‚ considered together with a host of other factors‚ will assist her towards making her decision on the appropriate voting procedure‚” said Mothapo.