African National Congress (ANC) Chief Whip in Parliament, Pemmy Majodina, says she is satisfied with the reasons provided by ANC MPs who did not participate earlier this week in the vote on a motion that could see the Public Protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, removed from office.
The ANC has 230 MPs, but only about 170 voted.
In the run up to the vote, several ANC members publicly stated that they would not vote in favour of a DA-led motion.
According to reports, some of those like Mervyn Dirks and Supra Mahumapelo, were not present at the sitting.
More than 60 ANC MPs didn’t cast their votes in favour of the inquiry.
Political analyst, Ralph Mathekga, said this immediately sparked comments of dissent within the Parliamentary caucus.
“The public divisions regarding this within the ANC, it has actually brought the party under the spotlight where people will maybe begin to ask the question as to whether is this party well aligned? Is the ANC positioned to heed the public mood, to listen to the public mood, and prioritize those issues such as fighting corruption, that South Africans are mostly concerned about?”
Mathekga says this could have an impact on the general confidence in the ANC.
‘If the party comes out of this thing with the sharp divisions, at the end, it will be clear that the factional divisions within the party are now beginning to impact the functions of the state institutions. I think we have seen that in the past. It’s just that this is another escalation of that.”
But acting spokesperson of the ANC Caucus, Nomfanelo Kota, says the reasons, which range from poor internet connectivity to the virtual sitting to bereavements, were accepted.
“Those who were absent had valid apologies. There was poor connectivity on the day which played role. Some MPs kept being kicked out of virtual platform. No DC proceedings against those (who) explained why (they) couldn’t log in. ANC chief whip accepted their apologies and that is where the story ends for us.”
More on the ANC’s stance in the video below:
Conscience vs party line
In a meeting with ANC top structures, right before the vote, MPs were instructed to vote according to the party mandate, in favour of the inquiry.
This reignited the debate on the issue of MPs voting according to conscience versus toeing the party line.
Lawson Naidoo from the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (Casac) says there is nothing untoward with MPs defying their party’s call.
“So long as it is consistent with the party manifesto. However, where parties take a stance that is contrary to the Constitution, or the law, then MPs should not be obliged to follow a party instruction. Their oath of office, which commands allegiance to the Constitution and to act in the best interest of the republic, overrides this.
In the case of the vote earlier this week to establish an ad hoc committee to pursue impeachment proceedings against Ms Mkhwebane as the Public Protector, MPs needed to abide by the rules of the National Assembly. An independent panel recommended that a committee should be established to pursue these impeachment proceedings, therefore, the question is on what basis would MPs second guess the findings of such a panel.”
Attempts to speak to some of the MPs who did not vote in favour of the inquiry were not successful.
Mkhwebane confident she will be cleared of any wrongdoing:
