Cabinet will on Thursday brief the media on its preparations for the inauguration of Jacob Zuma as President.
Thousands of people are expected to attend the inauguration ceremony which will take place in the Nelson Mandela Amphitheatre at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Saturday.
Government spokesperson Phumla Williams says preparations are at an advanced stage.
On Wednesday, Zuma was elected as President of the country by the National Assembly. This comes after Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng dismissed the Democratic Alliances’s (DA) objection to Zuma’s nomination.
Mogoeng ruled that Zuma was fit to hold office in terms of the Constitution.
“Honorable Jacob Zuma is a member of the National Assembly. Having signed all the forms, I know that he is one of those who took an oath and not a solemn affirmation and is therefore eligible for election into the Office of the President according to the Constitution. So my ruling is therefore to dismiss the point raised without costs.”
This nomination is irrational since his conduct during his previous term conflicted especially with Section 96 of the constitution
The DA’s James Selfe made the objection after African National Congress (ANC) Member of Parliament Story Morutoa nominated Zuma.
Selfe claimed that Zuma was unfit to hold office. “This nomination is irrational since his conduct during his previous term conflicted especially with Section 96 of the Constitution.”
“In particular, he has not acted on the recommendations of at least two reports of the Public Protector, and he appointed a National Director of Public Prosecutions who was manifestly unsuitable and whose appointment was set aside by the Constitutional court,” he added.
Zuma is South Africa’s fourth President since 1994. He is preceded by Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe. Motlanthe served for almost eight months after the governing-ANC took a decision to “recall” Mbeki in September 2008.
After the 2009 elections, Zuma was sworn in for his first term. Zuma is constitutionally barred from serving more than two terms as the country’s first citizen.
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