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STATEMENT BY THE SPEAKER OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ON THE

APPROPRIATE VOTING PROCEDURE REGARDING THE MOTION OF NO


CONFIDENCE IN THE PRESIDENT

MONDAY, 7 AUGUST 2017

Fellow South Africans, following the Constitutional Court decision that I, as Speaker of the
National Assembly, have the constitutional power to prescribe the voting procedure in a
motion of no confidence in the President of the Republic of South Africa to be conducted in
the National Assembly, either by way of a secret ballot or open vote, and having taken due,
independent and impartial consideration of all the legal, constitutional and political factors
below, especially those articulated by the Constitutional Court, in a balanced and rational
manner, bearing in mind that some of these factors may be contradictory in nature, I take
this opportunity to present to the country my decision on the matter.

I have taken this extraordinary approach in the interests of transparency and also having
taken account of the huge interest in this matter which has been expressed in various
quarters of society. I, therefore, wish to appeal to members of the media that I will not take
questions after this briefing.

At the outset, I wish to indicate that it is always important for societal actors, in particular
political parties, to have confidence in our courts and in our Parliament. I, therefore, find the
public pronouncements and calls that the Speaker will act in a partisan manner,
reprehensible and unpalatable for our democracy. I am elected by the Assembly to perform
the role of Speaker and as long as that has not changed I will not recuse myself. Thus, the
call for the Speaker to recuse herself from the proceedings tomorrow has no constitutional
basis and is, therefore, legally misplaced.

Fellow South Africans, all facts, factors, circumstances and information available to me that I
have taken into consideration in making this decision, include the following:

1. On 22 June 2017, the Constitutional Court (CC) ruled that a vote of no confidence in the
President of the Republic of South Africa (President) is constitutionally permissible whether
through an open vote or secret ballot and that I, as the Speaker of the National Assembly
(NA), have the constitutional power to decide the voting procedure for such vote of no
confidence.

2. So, although the Constitution does not prescribe a specific voting procedure for the
removal of the President by way of a motion of no confidence, it does permit for a
voting procedure which may be either by way of an open vote or secret ballot and the
making of such decision lies exclusively with me, as Speaker, in terms of the Rules of
the NA.

3. I am mindful of the fact and the Constitutional Court has reminded me of this fact that
I, as Speaker, when exercising this exclusive constitutional power to determine the
procedure of voting in a motion of no confidence, must do so on a proper and rational
basis. In this respect, I, inter alia, invited the political parties who are represented in
the NA to provide me with submissions on their views of the matter, and also
requested to be provided with legal advice, which I took into consideration before
deciding this matter.

4. I understand and accept that a motion of no confidence in the President is a very


important matter; a potent tool towards holding the President to account; one
connected to the foundational values of accountability and responsiveness to the
needs of the people; that it constitutes one of the severest political consequences
imaginable; especially that a threat of a motion of no confidence will remain virtually
inconsequential in the absence of an effective operationalising mechanism to give it
the vital bite, when necessary.

5. I also understand and accept that central to the freedom of a Member of Parliament
(Member) to follow the dictates of personal conscience is the fact that the Member
takes an oath of office of faithfulness to the Republic and obedience to the
Constitution and laws, and there is no constitutional obligation for a Member to swear
allegiance to his or her political party.

6. Therefore, when I exercise this constitutional power I understand and accept that I
must be duly guided by the need to ensure that Members exercise their oversight
powers effectively and it must be in the interest of the people and in obedience of the
Constitution, to enable effective accountability of and over the Executive. I have also
considered the fact that the Constitutional Court has indicated that a motion of no
confidence in the President of the Republic of South is a very important matter, in
fact it is a very important tool used to hold the President to account.

7. I am cognisant of the fact that the Constitutional Court also enjoined me, when
exercising this power, to take into account considerations of the foundational
constitutional principle of openness and transparency entrenched in the Constitution.
I am particularly mindful of the fact that section 1(d) of the Constitution sets
openness as a foundational principle for the Constitution and our democracy. The
Constitution further instructs that the National Assembly must conduct its business in
an open manner.

8. As representatives of the electorate, Members are not supposed to always operate


under a cover of secrecy. Considerations of transparency and openness sometimes
demand a display of courage and resoluteness to boldly advance the interests of
those that they represent, no matter the consequences, including the risk of dismissal
for non-compliance with party instructions.

9. The Constitutional Court indicated that the electorate is at times entitled to know how
their representatives carry out even some of their most sensitive obligations and this
includes voting in a motion of no confidence. However, this reality may not always be
possible where there are instances of intimidation. In terms of the Constitutional
Court judgment if Members are constitutionally obliged to vote according to their
conscience it follows that no Member can suffer any harm, hardship or punitive action
if they comply with the Constitution and vote according to their conscience. A reading
of the Constitutional Court judgment suggests that any action of a political party
against a public representative who voted in accordance with their conscience may
be struck down for violating the Constitution.

10. The value of openness and transparency is always our natural manner of conducting
business, and which we should never take for granted. The Constitutional Court has
however compelled us to consider a variety of other factors.

11. The Constitutional Court has indicated that a secret ballot becomes necessary where
the prevailing atmosphere is toxified or highly charged. It is my duty to act
responsibly when I assess how my decision will impact on all members. I have
conducted a thorough assessment of the situation and how it will impact on all
members

12. The Speaker must maintain and preserve the order of and the proper decorum in the
House and uphold the dignity and good name of the House. Parliament is a forum for
public consideration of issues. This Parliament is seized with a responsibility to deal
with complex issues. The people of South Africa look to Parliament to give direction
during challenging times. We dare not underestimate this privilege and responsibility.

13. The people of South Africa also look to Parliament for signals of hope. I have
considered the environment and heard voices expressing doubt in the integrity and
values of our 20-year old Constitution. We, therefore, have to use this opportunity to
show responsiveness to our people. This decision is, therefore, in the best interest of
the country.

14. The Speaker is required to guard the procedures of this House and to ensure that the
outcome of this very important vote is credible. The Speaker must do this without fear
or favour. It is with that in mind that this decision is also about putting the resilience of
our democratic institution to test.

15. Having considered all the factors, and mindful of the fact that this decision is not
setting a precedent, I determine that voting on the motion of no confidence in the
President on 8 August 2017 will be by secret ballot.

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