The civil rights organisation AfriForum has noted Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng’s ruling to revert the secret ballot decision back to Parliament and thus to Baleka Mbete, Speaker of the Parliament. AfriForum has however sent an email to the speaker’s office, appealing to Mbete’s conscience and asking her to allow the motion of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma to be conducted through a secret ballot.
“Although we believe the judgement could have gone either in a more negative or positive direction, it now leaves the final decision over the secret ballot with the ANC’s speaker. While AfriForum is not convinced that a secret ballot will indeed lead to a successful motion of no confidence in the president, it will show South Africans once and for all whether there is a Jacob Zuma problem or an ANC problem,” says Guido Urlings, National Campaign Officer for AfriForum.
AfriForum believes that a secret ballot will, if nothing else, allow all members of Parliament to vote according to their conscience, without fear of repercussions and representing the interests of their voters, not those of their political masters.