JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's political parties on Monday welcomed the Speaker of Parliament's decision to allow secret ballot in the vote of no confidence against the country's President Jacob Zuma.
The Speaker of the National Assembly, Baleka Mbete on Monday announced that voting on the motion of no confidence against President Jacob Zuma, on Tuesday will be on secret ballot. The leader of the opposition, Democratic Alliance, (DA) Mmusi Maimane welcomed the decision.
"The DA's vote will be no secret, we will vote to fire Jacob Zuma tomorrow. African National Congress (ANC) Member of Parliament now have no excuse. They must use their vote tomorrow to stand up to grand corruption and vote to remove Jacob Zuma as President," said Maimane.
The DA called on the ruling party Members of Parliament to vote against Zuma. The ANC also welcomed the decision and promised to abide by it. The Office of the ANC Chief Whip encouraged the party legislators to reject the vote of no confidence on the President.
"This motion by the DA, who are our political nemesis is a political ploy designed to undermine our popularly elected government, fracture and weaken the ANC with an aim of removing it from government by any means outside of general elections," said Nonceba Mhlauli, Media Liaison Officer in the Office of the ANC Chief Whip.
"This motion is therefore in the interest of the Democratic Alliance and opposition forces and not in the interest of our country. We reiterate our stance that the ANC will vote against this motion. We will not vote with the opposition to collapse our democratically elected government," he added.
Another opposition, United Democratic Movement (UDM) also welcomed the Speaker's decision. UDM called for the legislators across political divide to vote in support of no confidence in Zuma.
The UDM president Bantu Holomisa said, "When the UDM made this request in April, we knew very well that she not only has the right, but also the responsibility to act; and act responsibly. We hope that all 400 members of the National Assembly will put South Africa first and vote in favor of the motion. We must also stress that tomorrow's vote is not about a regime change but about saving South Africa from an irredeemably compromised president."
FutureSA coalition of the civil society calling for Zuma to step down also gave thumbs up for the secret ballot.
In a statement, FutureSA said, "Members of Parliament are now free to vote with their consciences, without threats of intimidation or disciplinary action. Our message to all legislators is clear, your duty is to honor your bond with the people of South Africa. We urge you to do the right thing, to put your country first, so that we may reclaim the state and resume the struggle for a society based on the freedom and dignity promised in our Constitution." Enditem
