CAPE TOWN - United Africans Transformation (UAT) president Dr Wonderboy Mahlatsi fell seven votes short of becoming the chairperson of the impeachment committee on the Section 89 Enquiry.
Instead, Rise Mzansi’s member of parliament Makashule Gana was elected as the chairperson after securing 19 votes to Mahlatsi’s 12.
| GANA'S VOTES | MAHLATSI'S VOTES |
ANC 9 DA 5 IFP 1 PA 1 FF Plus 1 Rise Mzansi 1 Al Jama-ah – 1 |
EFF 2 MK Party 3 ActionSA 1 ACDP 1 UDM 1 BOSA 1 ATM 1 National Coloured Congress 1 United Africans Transformation 1 |
The Speaker of the National Assembly announced 31-members from political parties who will serve on the Impeachment Committee.
READ | Rise Mzansi's Makashule Gana elected impeachment committee chairperson
The Committee will look into President Cyril Ramaphosa's Phala Phala farm theft and the Section 89 Independent Report.
In May, the Constitutional Court ordered Parliament to set up a committee after it ruled that the National Assembly acted unlawfully when voting against the adoption of the panel report in 2022.
Section 89 (1) of the Constitution deals with the removal of the President from his position.
Two-thirds of the National Assembly must adopt a resolution to remove the president from office.
A political analyst, Levy Ndou, believes the election was fair and transparent.
“One must appreciate the fact that the waiting is over, but more importantly, the conduct of the presiding officer in terms of the level of transparency and ensuring that everything is done openly.
“All of us could see that everybody or every political party has given an opportunity to cast their vote in an open and transparent manner," he said.
He said what is now left is for the country to see how this committee will run.
“Parties had to sit before coming into this meeting to express themselves on who then is supposed to lead. And in a democratic setup, whether you discuss prior the meeting or not, the majority has to win. And this is exactly what happened today."