The Speaker of the National Assembly has replied to the Chief Whip of the Democratic Alliance regarding his demand for a decision on the appropriate voting procedure in the Motion of No Confidence in the President to be made by today.

The Speaker has reiterated that a decision on which voting procedure will be followed regarding the Motion will be made and communicated to parties at the earliest opportunity, before the scheduled debate on 8 August 2017.

Whereas the Constitutional Court found that the Speaker has the discretion to determine a voting procedure in a Motion of no Confidence, that decision must take into account various factors and circumstances, including that such a decision must be rational and not be made arbitrarily.

In this respect, while the Court did not prescribe a specific timeframe within which such a decision must be made, due regard must, as stated by the Court, be given to the circumstances prevalent in a particular case to ensure that the test of rationality is met. The circumstances in the case in question require careful consideration.

The Speaker has appealed to all parties to afford her Office the necessary space to make an appropriate decision.

 

Issued by Parliament of the Republic of South Africa