ANC: DA wants regime change through Parliament
The African National Congress (ANC) in Parliament has lashed out at the Democratic Alliance (DA) after it announced plans to bring a motion to dissolve Parliament.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane made the announcement a day after a motion of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma failed to gain enough support in the National Assembly.
The ANC says this confirms its suspicion that the motion in Zuma was never about the President, but rather an attempt at regime change through Parliament.
"This planned motion by the DA shows that the DA does not respect our democracy and the electorate of South Africa. They have no regard for the will of the people as expressed through the outcomes of the 2014 general elections where 62% of the electorate gave the ANC a mandate to govern this country until the next general elections.
"We will defeat this planned motion as we have defeated all other attempts by the opposition to overthrow our popularly elected government," said spokesperson Nonceba Mhlauli.
The party has also expressed concern about a list doing the rounds, claiming to reveal which ANC MP's supported the motion against the President.
"This list which includes comrade Thabo Manyoni who has long left parliament, and the ANC Chief Whip comrade Jackson Mthembu, is bogus and ought to be dismissed like all other lists which have emerged before this one. This list is a dangerous ploy to incite mistrust and initiate a witch hunt."
Maimane told the media that the latest motion will be brought in terms of section 50 of the Constitution.
"We believe that Parliament requires a fresh mandate, and that mandate ought to be given by the voters through the ballot box," Maimane said in Cape Town.