EFF members are removed by presidential task force and parliament officials as President Cyril Ramaphosa attempts to deliver his 2023 Sona on February 9, 2023. (Photo by ESA ALEXANDER / POOL / AFP)
Not unexpectedly, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) failed to unseat National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula after ANC MPs overwhelmingly defeated their motion of no confidence in her.
A total of 234 MPs voted against the motion, while 42 supported her removal and 73 abstained. This clearly indicates that many in opposition ranks didn’t want to support the EFF but also didn’t want to support Mapisa-Nqakula.
ALSO READ: Mapisa-Nqakula survives EFF’s motion of no confidence
That fence-sitting stance by the opposition is, frankly, difficult to understand, given that the EFF’s motion was brought because of the Speaker’s order that they be removed from the chamber of the Cape Town City Hall after trying to violently disrupt President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address on 9 February.
We hold no brief for either Mapisa-Nqakula, or the ANC, but in this case she acted correctly … and probably allowed way too much leeway for the EFF hooligans, who have made it a habit to turn our legislature into a circus.
ALSO READ: EFF is ‘an embarrassment to the nation’, says ANC’s Pemmy Majodina
This time, though, they went too far in trying to storm the podium where Ramaphosa was speaking. This is unacceptable behaviour in any democracy and the quick and forceful reaction by security personnel was justified.
If we don’t respect our own institutions, who is going to respect us?
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