National Assembly to debate motions of no-confidence in President Ramaphosa and Cabinet

The National Assembly will on Wednesday debate the motions of no-confidence in President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Cabinet.

The African Transformation Movement (ATM) tabled the motion of no-confidence against Ramaphosa while the Democratic Alliance (DA) tabled the one against the Cabinet, excluding the President.

The ATM has, however, announced that it will not take part in its motion after the Speaker refused its request to postpone it.

It is the first time that a motion of no-confidence is tabled against President Ramaphosa. His predecessor, Jacob Zuma, survived six such motions.

It is also the first time ever that there has been a motion of no confidence against the cabinet.

The ATM, which has two members in the National Assembly, announced on Tuesday that it will not take part in the debate of its own motion. This is because the speaker declined to postpone it until their case challenging the open ballot voting is finalised.

The party also declined to withdraw the motion as advised by the Speaker. This would have allowed them to bring it back at a later stage.

Should the ATM’s motion be successful, the President and the entire Cabinet will have to resign with immediate effect.

Should it fail and the DA’s one succeeds, the President will remain but the rest of the executive will be forced to resign.

ATM wants a secret ballot motion of no confidence against President Cyril Ramaphosa: