A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Tuesday, August 8, 2017
Secret ballot for vote on motion of no confidence in South Africa's Zuma
Jacob
Zuma, who came to power in 2009, has been implicated in several
corruption scandals. Photograph: John Wessels/AFP/Getty Images
Decision on Tuesday over whether to oust longstanding president seen as test of unity for African National Congress party
A vote on a no-confidence motion that could oust Jacob Zuma is to be held as a secret ballot, increasing the chances that South Africa’s president since 2009 is poised to lose office.
Baleka Mbete, the parliamentary speaker and national chair of the ruling
African National Congress, told reporters on Monday the surprise
decision had been made “to ensure the outcome of this very important
vote is credible”.
Zuma, who has been hit by repeated scandals and a flagging economy, has
survived five previous no-confidence votes but none have been held in
secret.
About 20 senior ANC lawmakers have signalled they will vote with the
opposition for its motion in the 400-seat parliament, but dozens more
would need to disobey direct orders from senior party officials for Zuma
to be forced from power.
Zuma, 75, is due to step down as head of the ANC in December, and will
not therefore lead the party into the 2019 general election, whatever
the result of Tuesday’s vote.
The ANC has historically sought to make major decisions at a time of its
choosing, and has closed ranks against external pressure. The party led
the struggle against the apartheid regime and has ruled South Africa since the first free elections 23 years ago.
Jackson Mthembu, the party’s chief whip, said ousting Zuma would “have
disastrous consequences that can only have a negative impact on the
people of South Africa”.
However the ANC is deeply fractured, with an increasingly vocal faction
seeking root-and-branch reform, and some of its lawmakers are likely to
vote with the opposition motion.
A group of ANC veterans from the anti-apartheid movement recently called
for MPs to vote against Zuma, who was himself imprisoned with Nelson
Mandela on Robben Island under white-minority rule.
South Africa is “witness to larceny on a grand scale, leaving the
country not only impoverished, but also increasingly in the hands of
criminalised and compromised governance,” the veterans said in a statement.
Public support for the ANC slipped to its lowest ever level – 55% – in last year’s local elections. Many ANC supporters were shaken by a cabinet reshuffle in March when the much-respected finance minister was replaced with a Zuma loyalist.
The opposition, principally composed of the Democratic Alliance and
Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), will need about 50 ANC
defectors for the no-confidence motion to pass.
The DA said the vote was “an opportunity for us all to stand up to corruption and get rid of President Zuma and his cabinet”.
Street demonstrations in favour of the motion are planned in Cape Town, an opposition stronghold.
A petition signed by more than a million people demanding Zuma’s removal
has been presented to Cyril Ramaphosa, the deputy president. Ramaphosa,
who is seen as the leader of the party’s reformist faction, is a
candidate in forthcoming ANC elections and a presidential hopeful.
His main challenger is former foreign minister and Zuma’s ex-wife,
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who has significant support within the party
hierarchy, among rank and file, as well as in crucial provinces.
Much of the criticism of Zuma has been prompted by his alleged
relationship with the wealthy Gupta business family. For more than a
year South African media have reported a string of allegations of
improper influence and graft. Both Zuma and the Guptas deny any
wrongdoing.
The political instability comes against a background of economic
stagnation, with high levels of unemployment and sharpening resentment
at South Africa’s deep, enduring inequality.