THE African Transformation Movement (ATM) is calling for a secret ballot to be used in voting on the Section 194 Committee recommendation on the removal of the suspended Public Protector Advicate Busisiwe Mkhwebane.
On Monday, 11 September, the National Assembly will decide Mkhwebane's fate.
The Section 194 committee has determined that Mkhwebane is not fit to hold the office of the Chapter 9 institution, the Public Protector of South Africa.
They recommended that the National Assembly initiate impeachment proceedings against her.
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But some members of Parliament have questioned the recommendations, hence the request by the ATM.
On Wednesday, 6 September, ATM leader Vuyo Zungula wrote to National Assembly (NA) Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, listing 16 points why the vote should be by secret ballot.
Zungula said the Section 194 process was characterised from the outset by a politically predetermined outcome for various reasons.
He said the vote was now open to a secret ballot because the case against Mkhwebane was brought by or on behalf of the second largest political party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), with the support of the largest party, the African National Congress (ANC), as well as the Freedom Front Plus (FF +).
"The ANC has 230 members of the NA and the DA has 84 and the Freedom Front Plus, therefore, between the two parties, they have a total of 327 members which is more than sufficient to constitute the required threshold of 267 votes for the removal of the Public Protector.
"The ANC will notoriously use the party line method of coercing its census members to vote in favour of the removal motion," Zungula said.
He said that this is clearly predictable simply because of the fact that the guilty verdict and the adoption of the report under discussion was passed with the undivided vote of, among others, the ANC, the DA and the FF Plus members of the committee.
"It would be extremely irrational for the speaker, in such circumstances, to decide that this vote should, in spite of all of the above, be conducted by open show of hands and not by secret ballot.
"Kindly inform us of your decision as soon as possible as a matter of urgency. So that, in the event of a decision not to grant this request, we may have sufficient time to take the appropriate legal steps to reverse your decision,” said Zungula.
