Secret vote: The magic number is 201

The magic number opponents of President Jacob Zuma are looking for in Tuesday's vote of no confidence motion is 201 votes.

The number of vacancies in the National Assembly makes no difference‚ says parliamentary legal adviser Adv Frankie Jenkins.

The ANC has four vacancies and the PAC has one which is in dispute‚ which has raised questions over whether the number of votes required to unseat Zuma would then drop.

But Jenkins says the matter has been tested in court cases before‚ and the number for the "50% plus one" votes which the Constitution requires for the motion of no confidence to succeed is definitely 201.