ANC STATEMENT ON VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE IN THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

8 August 2017

The African National Congress (ANC) congratulates the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa for its robust engagement in the National Assembly today that resulted in the resounding defeat of the motion of no confidence in President Zuma and our Cabinet.

The ANC regards it as paramount that not just our elected representatives, but all South Africans; are able to engage on the most critical issues facing our country without fear of favour.

The biggest victor of today’s event is our constitutional dispensation. It once again reaffirms the ANC’s position as the leader of society in that the country’s MP’s are able to exercise this critical constitutional provision aimed at safeguarding our democracy.

Whilst the ANC has consistently noted the numerous challenges facing our democracy as presented by the political opposition – at the same time we cannot lose sight of the record of success and achievement under the ANC government as presented by ANC MP’s in today’s debate.

It is only through robust engagement and constant dialogue that we will be able to address and overcome the challenges facing our country, such as we have witnessed today.

The ANC has always retained the utmost faith in its deployed cadres in government. They are men and women of principle who owe their position to an overwhelming public mandate given to the ANC in successive elections since democracy.

We reject the craven opportunism and hypocrisy of members of the political opposition who have consistently sought to portray our MP’s as unprincipled and cowardly.

Our MP’s carry with them the aspirations of the electorate – and whether this motion of no confidence had been put to the vote via secret or open ballot, the ANC is confident our MP’s will have acted in the best interests of our country.

Our elected representatives will continue to work across all structures of government to deliver on our electoral mandate of delivering a better life for all.

As Africa’s oldest liberation movement, the ANC is a resilient movement, and South Africa is a resilient country. Despite the challenges we face as a country, we remain steadfast in our commitment to entrench the gains of our democracy. Most importantly, we remain resolute in our determination to accelerate transformation for the betterment of the lives of all our people.

The ANC calls on all sectors of society, even those with whom our views diverge, to work with us to realize this vision of radical socio-economic transformation for all our people

Statement issued by the African National Congress, 8 August 2017