After a meeting in Johannesburg on Monday, six opposition parties announced they would combine forces to try to replace Jacob Zuma as president by embarking on a march to the Union Buildings, continuing with multiple court cases, and pushing for a motion of no confidence in the president. They hope to work with members of the ANC in the National Assembly to then elect someone “who is committed to South Africa, the people and the Constitution”, the parties said in a statement.

“The choice South Africans must make is: Zuma or South Africa. The two cannot co-exist,” said the Democratic Alliance (DA), Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), United Democratic Movement (UDM), Congress of the People (Cope), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), and the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) in a statement read by DA leader Mmusi Maimane. The president has come under intense pressure, from both inside and outside the ANC, since his decision on Thursday to reshuffle the Cabinet.

“These are indeed irregular and trying times for South Africa and the people, which demands a united vision and programme of action from leaders of society, like opposition parties represented in the National Assembly,” said the parties.

They hope to hold a summit with members of civil society and mobilise support for a march to the Union Buildings demanding Zuma resign or, if he doesn’t, at least increasing pressure on ANC members to remove him. The parties also expressed support for continuing with the DA’s court action challenging the reshuffle and the EFF’s court attempt to have Zuma impeached.

“This is not an academic exercise. We are serious about this,” said Maimane. Cope leader, Mosiuoa Lekota, said: “Our country is in this crisis because there’s no regard for the Constitution and there’s no regard for the rule of law. Strictly speaking, we are being governed today exactly in the way the National Party used to govern us during apartheid.”

The key move in the opposition parties’ plan lies in a motion of no confidence in Zuma in the National Assembly. Similar motions in the past have failed, but they believe, after multiple ANC leaders have spoken out against the president in the last week and the South African Communist Party (SACP) has called for his removal, that this time it might succeed. The DA and EFF last week asked Speaker Baleka Mbete to reconvene the House for a special sitting and the UDM made a similar request on Monday. Mbete has said she is assessing the requests and will decide within a week whether to reconvene the National Assembly.

For the motion to be successful it would require significant support from ANC Members of Parliament. “The motion of no confidence is not about the removal (of) the ANC. The ANC was voted into government by the majority, through the democratic project, which we respect. In the short term, we are working to remove Jacob Zuma, and elect someone from the ranks of the National Assembly who is committed to South Africa, the people and the Constitution,” said the parties.

They said they were lobbying ANC members, but would not detail their discussions. A key challenge will be negotiating with ANC MPs willing to go along with the motion on who would replace Zuma. “I am confident in saying that whoever has the numbers in the ANC, they put together a candidate they all agree on, we will get behind, it’s not an issue,” said Maimane. They want the motion to be heard within two weeks and will approach the courts if Mbete does not recall the National Assembly – which is in recess – for a special sitting.

“People must not underestimate what has happened here today. These parties sitting here represent between five and six million voices of South Africans,” said EFF national chairperson, Dali Mpofu. “That is not something you can sneer at. Six million South Africans have put us in that Parliament so that we can pursue their objectives and we know that beyond those six million people … there’s probably another six million and another six million of South Africans who do not like what is happening.” He said the opposition parties’ various efforts are meant to galvanise society.

Mpofu said the circumstances require various parties to work together and with the ANC, but if they remove the president, they will go back to sparring. “We are appealing to them to work for us only for those two hours. After that it’s business as usual. We will be boxing against Maimane and company all the time, but for those couple of hours let us all unite to save our country from this crisis.”

To ANC MPs, Mpofu asked: “Somebody who has defied the deputy president, who has defied the Treasurer-General and forced them to make public statements –  if you are voting for Zuma when we put the motion, who are you actually voting for? Are you voting for the ANC? Because the ANC has said it’s unhappy about the reshuffle. Or are you voting for state capture and the Guptas?” DM

Photo: Demonstrators protest against South African President Jacob Zuma’s firing of Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, outside Parliament in Cape Town, South Africa, March 31, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings