Little chance of removal of parliament or president: expert

Pierre de Vos
Pierre de Vos
As the ANC’s top six office bearers met in Pretoria on Friday afternoon over the Nkandla judgment‚ a constitutional law expert said calls for a dissolution of parliament and an early election were unlikely to bear fruit.

University of Cape Town law professor Pierre de Vos said any decision to be taken following the Constitutional Court judgment would depend on the wishes of the African National Congress (ANC)‚ which had a majority of seats in the National Assembly.

Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema on Thursday called for an urgent election after the Constitutional Court criticised the conduct of President Jacob Zuma and the National Assembly in the Nkandla matter.

The next general election is only scheduled for 2019.

“We must call for an election. That parliament has failed our people‚” Malema said at a news conference after the court ruled that the failure by Zuma to comply with the remedial action directed against him by the Public Protector was inconsistent with the constitution.

De Vos said the constitution provided for the dissolution of the National Assembly before the expiry of its term if the Assembly has adopted a resolution to dissolve with a majority vote of its members and three years had passed since the Assembly was elected.

He said this provision would not apply because the current MPs had been elected less than three years ago.

De Vos said the constitution also provided for the National Assembly to remove the president from office on the grounds of serious misconduct‚ serious violation of the constitution or inability to perform the functions of office. This had to be done with the vote of at least two thirds of members.

De Vos said ANC members of the National Assembly‚ who were in the majority but not two thirds‚ did not make decisions like these independently from the leadership of the party.

“They are subjected to party discipline. It all depends on the ANC. There is a difference between what the constitution says and what MPs who sit in the National Assembly are told to do.”

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