The national Assembly is meeting, this Tuesday, December 13 in Cape Town, to decide on the opening of a procedure for the dismissal of the current president, Cyril Ramaphosa. A report given to MPs, written by three lawyers, established two weeks ago that Cyril Ramaphosa may have committed acts in breach of the law in the context of the case “ Phala-Phala “. He is accused of having, in 2020, concealed from the authorities a theft of money of at least 580,000 dollars hidden on his farm.
With our correspondent in Johannesburg, Claire Bargeles
Debates have started in the Assembly. The parliamentary session has just opened and the deputies will be able to exchange their points of view on this reportin a rather tense atmosphere, while representatives of the opposition dispute the form that the vote will take.
The vote must take place later in the day to decide whether or not to adopt this text and its conclusions, which could open a dismissal procedure.
No secret ballot
To pass, this vote must bring together a simple majority on Tuesday, which can only be done with the contribution of votes from members of the ANC, since the party alone represents 230 seats out of 400.
This scenario is not impossible, because the divisions are deep within the political formation, but the vote by secret ballot has been ruled out by the President of the Assembly. It is therefore difficult for the rebel deputies to get out of party line in public, as the ANC called for support for Cyril Ramaphosa.
Whatever the outcome of the vote, the debates to come will still be lively within the party, since it meets from Friday, December 16 to renew its leadership, and whether or not to grant its confidence to the current president for a new mandate.