South African President Jacob Zuma addresses a business meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe, Nov. 3, 2016. (Xinhua)

CAPE TOWN, April 7 (Xinhua) -- The African National Congress (ANC) in Parliament said on Thursday it will vote against a motion of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma.

The motion, submitted by opposition parties, has been scheduled for April 18 amid growing calls for Zuma to resign after he reshuffled the cabinet, affecting 10 ministers and 10 deputy ministers, notably Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan.

"As members of the ANC in Parliament, we have been inundated with mischievous calls, text messages and emails by faceless individuals and organizations lobbying us to disregard the party line and vote in accordance with our individual taste as dictated by our conscious and lobby groups in the upcoming motion," the ANC Chief Whip Office said in a statement.

These calls are not only disingenuous, but also highly unfortunate as they seek to suggest that ANC MPs are free agents open to all sorts of mischievous lobbying and manipulation by the opposition and other forces, said the office.

The very same opposition making these calls have always voted along party lines yet they expect ANC MPs not to be guided and directed by their political party, said the statement.

"We reiterate that as ANC members of parliament we derive our political mandate from the organization. We will abide by the decision of the ANC National Working Committee as announced by ANC Secretary General comrade Gwede Mantashe that the ANC does not and will not support this motion," the statement said.

The ANC also rejects calls by opposition parties for a secret ballot in the motion of no confidence.

"The Constitution of the Republic is clear that a secret ballot in the House applies only in the process of electing the President, the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker. There is no provision in the rules of the National Assembly for such a call," the statement said.

This call is therefore in violation of the laws of parliament as an institution and the Constitution, said the statement.

Some ANC MPs reportedly voiced fear that they would be removed if they vote in support of the motion.

For a vote of no confidence motion to be successful, it requires 201 of the 400 National Assembly MPs to vote in favour.

If the motion is successful, then the president, his deputy, cabinet ministers and all their deputies must resign as provided for in section 102 of the Constitution.

In 2016, Zuma survived two no confidence motions in Parliament which is dominated by ANC MPs.