APA-Cape Town (South Africa) South Africa’s parliament has rejected a motion of no-confidence against the Speaker of the National Assembly Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.
The motion, which had been brought by the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), was debated on Wednesday night, with 234 – mostly ruling African National Congress – lawmakers voting against the censure against the Speaker.
Only 42 members of parliament voted in favour of the motion while there were 73 abstentions – mostly from the main opposition Democratic Alliance party.
The EFF, led by firebrand politician Julius Malema, had called for the removal of Mapisa-Nqakula as Speaker of the National Assembly claiming that she had violated parliamentary rules and the constitution by ordering the removal of lawmakers from the party from the chamber during the presentation of the State of the Nation Address by President Cyril Ramaphosa on February 9.
On the day, EFF lawmakers prevented Ramaphosa’s speech and stormed the stage where he was.
JN/APA