Repeated attempts by opposition parties to remove the ruling African National Congress will never succeed, President Jacob Zuma told supporters on Tuesday evening following an unsuccessful vote of no confidence in him.
"They [opposition parties] try and try, [but] they will never defeat the ANC," a jubilant Zuma told supporters gathered outside the National Assembly.
"You will never touch the ANC, even if you don’t like it, that’s your choice… The ANC will never be defeated."
Supporters chanted "Zuma, Zuma, Zuma", while he criticised opposition parties after surviving his eighth vote of no confidence.
Some 198 MPs voted against a motion of no confidence in him, 177 MPs voted in favour of the motion and 9 MPs abstained.
"They believe they could use technicalities in parliament to remove the majority in the ANC. It is impossible. We represent the majority in the country.
"Nobody has ever received such [a] number of votes in this country [like the ANC]. Now, if you talk about people who are representing a majority, the country, it is the ANC."
Zuma said the media tried to portray the ANC as a party with declining support, but the party proved the media wrong again.
"They can talk and talk and write and write and analyse on TV 24hrs," he said.
He said the ANC continued to attract bigger numbers whether "white people" join opposition protests or not.
