We will not support Ramaphosa’s nomination. South Africa must go to the polls to elect a new President

15 February 2018

Today, Parliament will sit to elect a new President of South Africa following yesterday’s resignation of Jacob Zuma. The Democratic Alliance (DA) caucus has taken a decision to not nominate our own candidate for President, and we will not be supporting Cyril Ramaphosa’s nomination.

Along with other opposition parties in Parliament, we took a decision to bring a Motion to dissolve Parliament in terms of section 50 of the Constitution. I submitted this Motion to the Speaker of Parliament 72 hours ago, and can be accessed here.

The reason for this Motion is that the National Assembly no longer represents the will of the people, having failed to hold President Jacob Zuma accountable. The National Assembly has failed in its duties to uphold the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, and therefore must be dissolved.

We believe that whomever is the new President requires a mandate from the public. The people of South Africa ought to choose who the new President of South Africa is.

If Cyril Ramaphosa is certain he will be elected President of South Africa by the people, then him and his ANC will have no hesitation in supporting this Motion.

South Africa must now go to the ballot box and elect a new President, and a new Parliament that has a mandate from the people.

Issued by Mmusi Maimane, Leader of the Democratic Alliance, 15 February 2018