Constitutional Court weighs need for secret no-confidence vote
Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng probes whether ordering the speaker to hold the Zuma vote in secret would tread on 'space reserved for the National Assembly'
The courts should not make decisions for Parliament but they should create the conditions for it to perform its functions, the Constitutional Court heard on Monday. Advocate Geoff Budlender SC, on behalf of the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution, addressed the issue of "judicial overreach" during arguments in the United Democratic Movement’s push for a secret ballot in a pending motion of no confidence against President Jacob Zuma. The ANC accused the courts of judicial overreach and its KwaZulu-Natal structure held a protest march against it as the hearing unfolded on Monday. But the party is also divided on the matter. National executive committee member Joel Netshithenzhe recently described criticism of the judiciary as irrational and "ill-informed". A long day of legal argument and the grilling of 10 advocates by a full bench of the Constitutional Court demonstrated the complexity of the secret ballot matter. Budlender told the court that the case befo...
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