Cape Town - Parliament will debate the DA's motion to dissolve the National Assembly on Tuesday, September 5, its programming committee heard on Thursday.

Recent events showed it was time to hold early elections, as a record number of MPs, including those from the African National Congress, voted to remove President Jacob Zuma in the failed motion of no confidence on August 8, the Democratic Alliance said in a statement.

“The reality is that South Africa cannot afford another two years of ANC governance,” DA chief whip John Steenhuisen said after the meeting.

“With over half of South Africans living in abject poverty, 9.3 million of our people without work and our economy showing no signs of being able to recover from the recession, we need a new beginning.”

He said the drafters of the Constitution included a provision to allow for early elections for that very purpose.

According to section 50 of the Constitution, the president must dissolve the National Assembly if the majority of its members, 201, adopt a resolution to do so. This can be done three years after the previous election.

Vindicated

The ANC’s parliamentary caucus said it felt vindicated after DA leader Mmusi Maimane first called for Parliament to be dissolved and early elections be held earlier this month.

It showed the DA did not respect democracy and the electorate of SA, who voted the ANC into power, ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu said.

The majority of the DA’s opposition partners rejected the call.

The Economic Freedom Fighters said the motion was disingenuous. The United Democratic Movement said it was impractical, as the Electoral Commission of South Africa was not ready to hold early elections.

The Inkatha Freedom Party said the idea required a lot of consideration and money, and should not be taken lightly. The Freedom Front Plus said the DA’s motion was opportunistic and would not succeed. DM

Want to watch Richard Poplak’s audition for SA’s Got Talent?

Who doesn’t? Alas, it was removed by the host site for prolific swearing*... Now that we’ve got your attention, we thought we’d take the opportunity to talk to you about the small matter of book burning and freedom of speech.

Since its release, Pieter-Louis Myburgh’s book Gangster State, has sparked numerous fascist-like behavior from certain members of the public (and the State). There have been planned book burnings, disrupted launches and Ace Magashule has openly called him a liar. And just to say thanks, a R10m defamation suit has been lodged against the author.

Pieter-Louis Myburgh is our latest Scorpio Investigative journalist recruit and we’re not going to let him and his crucial book be silenced. When the Cape Town launch was postponed, Maverick Insider stepped in and relocated it to a secure location so that Pieter-Louis’ revelations could be heard by the public. If we’ve learnt one thing over the past ten years it is this: when anyone tries to infringe on our constitutional rights, we have to fight back. Every day, our journalists are uncovering more details and evidence of State Capture and its various reincarnations. The rot is deep and the threats, like this recent one to freedom of speech, are real. You can support the cause by becoming an Insider and help free the speech that can make a difference.

*No video of Richard Poplak auditioning for SA’s Got Talent actually exists. Unless it does and we don’t know about it please send it through.

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