UPDATE: ATM’s urgent court application over secret ballot struck from the roll

The Western Cape High Court has struck from the roll the African Transformation Movement’s (ATM) urgent application, seeking an order to force National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula to conduct their motion of no confidence in President Cyril Ramaphosa by way of secret ballot.

Judge Rosheni Allie struck the party’s urgent application from the court roll on Monday morning, saying it was not urgent, and the urgency was self-created.

Speaking to The Citizen, ATM’s media and communications manager Zama Ntshona said the party would approach Mapisa-Nqakula to request her to postpone their motion to a later date.

“She has no choice but to accept our request as the matter is before the courts,” he said.

ATM’s secret ballot court case

With just two days left before MPs vote on Wednesday on ATM’s tabled motion – and a similar motion brought by the Democratic Alliance (DA) against Ramaphosa’s Cabinet – the party wanted an order declaring Mapisa-Nqakula’s decision to reject their request for a secret ballot unconstitutional and invalid.

ATM also wanted the high court to review and set aside the speaker’s decision, taken on 16 February and 9 March 2022, rejecting their request, and to replace it with an order granting the secret ballot.

ALSO READ: No-confidence motion: ATM to challenge open ballot decision

Mapisa-Nqakula rejected ATM and the DA’s request for a closed ballot, arguing that she does not believe a closed ballot is necessary or in the interest of democracy.

Application not urgent

In her court papers, seen by The Citizen, Mapisa-Nqakula argued that ATM’s court application was not urgent and that any urgency in their application was self-created.

The speaker also argued her decision to reject the party’s request was lawful, and that the ATM spent nine days between 16 and 25 February 2022 before it decided to take her decision on legal review.

Mapisa-Nqakula said the delays in lodging the court application, which saw Parliament being given four days to file an answering affidavit to ATM’s application, were “patently unreasonable and impermissible”.

“There is no question that the ATM had the right to launch proceedings to review the speaker’s decision of 16 February 2022 immediately upon receipt of that decision. It did not do so at that stage – either urgently or at all.

“Instead, the ATM made an election. It opted instead to ask the speaker to ‘review’ her own decision. It is this election that has brought about the purported urgency of these proceedings. The ATM cannot now escape the consequences of its election.”

Speaker’s discretion

Mapisa-Nqakula argued that in using her discretion to decide on the secret ballot, it could not be assumed that merely because a motion of no confidence in the president is at stake, a secret ballot must follow.

READ MORE: No secret ballot for no-confidence vote against Ramaphosa

“Rather, the correct position is that the speaker is empowered by Rule 104(1) and (3) of the Rules of the National Assembly to determine whether a particular motion of no confidence will be by secret ballot or open vote.

“There is no default position and the question of how voting should occur ‘falls on the Speaker to determine’”.

MP’s undecided

During last week’s meeting of the National Assembly’s programming committee, ATM’s court action came into sharp focus, with MPs raising concerns about parliament’s preparedness should the high court rule in the party’s favour.

The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the United Democratic Movement called for ATM’s motion to be postponed until the second term of Parliament resumes in April.

IFP chief whip Narend Singh raised concerns over whether the virtual platform being used by Parliament would be able to accommodate the secret ballot at the last minute.

The secretary to the National Assembly, Masibulele Xaso, said the virtual platform was not able to run the secret ballot, but they were exploring ways of conducting the vote via secret ballot.

“If the decision were to be that there must be a secret ballot, the speaker would then have to give a directive on how to proceed with the matter,” he said. 

Compiled by Thapelo Lekabe

NOW READ: To postpone Ramaphosa’s motion of no confidence? MP’s undecided