Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema led the charge against the Speaker, saying that she misinterpreted the party’s intentions on the night of the State of the Nation Address (Sona).
FILE: National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula in Parliament. Picture: GCIS
CAPE TOWN – A motion of no confidence in National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has failed in Parliament.
The results were tallied on Wednesday night, with 234 members voting against the motion, 42 in favour and 73 abstained.
#MotionofNoConfidence EFF MPs now voting YES to their motion to remove the speaker. LD
‘ EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) March 22, 2023
#MotionofNoConfidence has failed.
234 against
42 in favour
73 abstainedLD
‘ EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) March 22, 2023
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema led the charge against the Speaker, saying that she misinterpreted the party’s intentions on the night of the State of the Nation Address (Sona).
Malema argued that the Speaker was biased towards his party.
But he found little support among opposition parties, with the exception of the African Transformation Movement (ATM).
Malema reiterated that EFF MPs posed no threat to President Cyril Ramaphosa, when some of its members climbed on the stage where he was at the podium to deliver his address.
“What we did on the day we came to the stage, we were carrying placards with our hands up – a person with hands up can never be a threat, can onnly be a threat to none thinkers and don’t know how threats can be conducted.”
Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA) abstained from the vote, despite the party’s chief whip Siviwe Gwarube saying that Mapisa-Nqakula had obliterated the legacy of her predecessors.
“Our abstinence from this vote should never be construed as a vote of confidence in you, Madame Speaker. Our abstinence is motivated by the fact that the motion before us today does not even scratch the surface of why you are ill-suited for this role.”
