Motion Calling for Early South African Elections to be Debated Next Week

A motion calling for early elections in South Africa will be debated in the House of Parliament on Tuesday 5 September, it has been announced this morning by the National Assembly Programme Committee.

The opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), has called for early elections as provided for in the Constitution (Section 50(1)) following the 8 August Motion of No Confidence in President Jacob Zuma.

The DA says the 8 August Motion saw “a record number of MPs, including those from the ANC, vote to remove a captured president”.

In a press statement Thursday, the DA said early elections are vital because “South Africa cannot afford another two years of ANC governance”.

“With over half of South Africans living in abject poverty, 9.3 million of our people without work and our economy showing no signs of being able to recover from the recession, we need a new beginning.

“The drafters of our Constitution foresaw a need to include a provision to allow for early elections for this very purpose. The events of 8 August made it clear that our country desperately needs a new beginning.”

The DA said it will call on all MPs to support this motion to usher in new elections.

“Given the enormity of the challenges lying ahead, South Africa cannot afford to have that ANC in power any longer,” the party claimed.

A few days ago the DA launched their early emergency election campaign with a petition for all South Africans to sign. Their goal is to collect 100k signatures. So far just over 5,000 South Africans have signed.