The Western Cape High Court is due to hear an application by the African Transformation Movement (ATM) to have a motion of no confidence against President Cyril Ramaphosa be conducted in a secret vote.
The ATM tabled the motion of no confidence against the President in November 2020, over the funding of his CR17 campaign for the African National Congress (ANC) presidency.
National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise had previously refused to allow ATM’s request for a secret ballot.
The ATM is working to garner support for its motion of confidence in President Cyril Ramaphosa:
The party says Modise acted irrationally and with bias in turning down its request.
The ATM’s Head of Policy, Mzwanele Manyi, outlines their expectations of the court outcome.
“There is going to be a rational decision by the court to allow the secret ballot to proceed. We think that it is important to have a secret ballot because if you vote the wrong way you face three things: you face being purged, suspended or being politically killed purely because you voted not in line with what the party wanted,” explains Manyi.
Meanwhile, in December 2020, political analyst Lukhona Mnguni said the ATM should have waited for the Constitutional Court judgment regarding donations for the CR17 campaign before tabling a motion of no confidence.
The motion was filed by the ATM leader Vuyolwethu Zungula in February 2020, before the COVID-19 lockdown began.
The audio below is analysis of the ATM’s motion of no-confidence against President Cyril Ramaphosa:
