A bid to have the all-important Division of Revenue Bill passed in the National Assembly stalled on Tuesday when the House failed to meet the required quorum of 201 MPs.

The matter was put to a vote, after the Democratic Alliance called for a division, with its MPs deliberately leaving the House to see if a quorum could be established, given the ruling African National Congress (ANC) has a total of 249 MPs.

In the end the bill stood over after only 192 MPs voted in favour of the bill, while five opposed it. There were no abstentions.

“This exercise will have to be postponed and done yet again. The bill therefore will come back to the House,” announced deputy speaker Lechesa Tsenoli.

A similar situation played out in the NA last year, with the bill having to stand over due to a lack of quorum.