CAPE TOWN, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- The ruling African National Congress (ANC) on Wednesday denounced a plan by the opposition to dissolve Parliament to pave way for early elections.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) announced earlier in the day that it will table a motion for the dissolution of Parliament and call for early elections.
This came one day after the ANC defeated a no confidence motion against President Jacob Zuma through secret ballot.
In the voting, 198 MPs were against the motion, while 177 supported it and nine abstained. A total of 384 MPs took part in the voting.
The DA expressed disappointment with the result, saying Zuma survived yet again due to the protection by the ANC that elected him twice and shielded him from accountability countless times.
"We believe the voters should now have the chance to express their opinion about the conduct of the ANC in defending Jacob Zuma. In short, we believe that Parliament should be dissolved now so that the country can hold an early election," DA leader Mmusi Maimane said at a press conference in Cape Town.
The ANC, however, called the DA's plan "a ploy", which "exposes what the ANC has always stated that the motion of no confidence in Zuma is not about the president but an attempt at regime change through Parliament."
"This planned motion by the DA shows that the DA does not respect our democracy and the electorate of South Africa," said Nonceba Mhlauli, spokesperson of the Office of the ANC Chief Whip.
The DA has no regard for the will of the people as expressed through the outcomes of the 2014 general elections where 62 percent of the electorate gave the ANC a mandate to govern this country until the next general elections, said Mhlauli.
"We will defeat this planned motion as we have defeated all other attempts by the opposition to overthrow our popularly elected government," he said.
The DA's motion will be tabled in Parliament on Thursday, according to Maimane.
Maimane said the DA will ensure that the motion be debated and voted on as soon as practically possible.
"It is the DA's view that this is the most appropriate way to ensure a legitimate government is in place, one which the people of South Africa have full confidence in," he said.
