Expert calls Malema’s ‘plan’ to quit parliament ‘misguided’

In response to EFF leader Julius Malema saying that he has been in talks with the DA about the possibility of the two largest opposition parties quitting parliament, Professor De Vos told eNCA that, if this is true, it would achieve none of the aims of either party.

It would not lead to a new election and a sixth democratically elected parliament, as the ANC still possesses a more than 50% majority in the National Assembly, and so will continue to govern, but without the counterbalance of an opposition presence.

Malema has also suggested that many within the ANC (the “moral people”) may also quit in support, which might drive the ANC’s presence to below 50% and thus spark a new round of national elections.

In an interview on Friday with the SABC, Malema said he has been in talks with the DA to discuss the en masse resignation of MPs from both parties so that parliament can be dissolved.

The DA says these “talks” are exaggerated, and the plan had only been mentioned in passing to DA leader Mmusi Maimane. The DA, however, said they were not seriously abandoning quitting their jobs as MPs. It has “no plan” to do so.

In an interview with the SABC’s Aldrin Sampear, Malema told him the party would be willing to use this strategy in light of the failure of the Speaker of parliament, Baleka Mbete to hold President Jacob Zuma accountable.

He said he was considering the idea of having parliament dissolved by getting opposition parties to resign en masse.

He said “revolution is not like a birthday party … you have to work for it … you have to ensure everybody else is convinced that there is no other option”.

He said that even in the ANC, there were many MPs who thought that what was happening was “not right … in a democracy led by moral people … we should have said: ‘Guys, the decision of the Constitutional Court effectively means that we are no longer a legitimate body to hold anyone accountable, based on this constitution that we have violated. Therefore we must resign, call early elections and [perhaps] come back … as a sixth parliament … that can hold anyone accountable.’”

De Vos told eNCA on Monday afternoon that it was highly unlikely that Malema’s plan could pay off, as a majority of MPs would actually have to vote for early elections, which can only happen a minimum of three years after the previous election. The three years expire in May.

“That is not going to happen because the ANC has a majority.” A vote of 201 out of 400 would be required.

De Vos said that if the EFF and other opposition parties quit parliament, there would be a crisis of legitimacy, but parliament “will go on, albeit in a way that is less legitimate”.

“Constitutionally it’s not going to make any difference whatsoever. Parliament only needs one-third of its members to form a quorum. It needs 50% of its members to pass legislation … and the ANC has that majority, so that’s going to continue.

“Many voters will wonder is parliament legitimate with only one important party present. It’s a political issue, not a legal or constitutional one.”

He said smaller parties would lose their influence in portfolio committees if they quit.

“I really have no idea why [the EFF] are proposing this. It seems to me that if they are of the feeling that if they just walk away there will be a new election, then they are misguided and they don’t know what the provisions of the constitution actually say.”

Watch Malema explain his plan below. The video starts at the appropriate point:

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