Justices ask Dali Mpofu why Constitutional Court should order a secret ballot
A number of Constitutional Court justices questioned the United Democratic Movement’s (UDM’s) assertion that a vote of no confidence in the President be done by secret ballot. The justices asked why the section in the Constitution dealing with the vote of no confidence did not specifically mention that the vote should be done by way of secret ballot‚ while other sections explicitly stated the method of voting. The UDM was making oral arguments on Monday about why the court should compel a parliamentary vote of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma to be conducted by secret ballot. It relied on section 102 (2) of the Constitution. The section states that if the National Assembly‚ by "a vote" supported by a majority of its members‚ passes a motion of no confidence in the President‚ he and the other members of the Cabinet must resign. Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga told counsel for the UDM‚ Dali Mpofu SC‚ that the drafters of the Constitution in two instances were alive to the need for a s...
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