POLITICAL NEWS - With less than one hour to go before the first sitting of the 7th National Assembly kicks off at 10:00, South Africans are still in the dark as to what shape or form our new government will take.
Following a meeting of the ANC National Executive Committee last night, ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula told journalists that the party is still not in a position to make an announcement about a Government of National Unity or any coalitions.
He did however confirm that progress has been made and that several parties have agreed to work with the ANC. He said that whether these parties are seen as black or white are not an issue.
In the event that a formal agreement of cooperation isn’t reached, it is expected that the ANC, DA, IFP, PA and some other smaller parties will attempt to work together.
The 58 MK members said they will not be attending, but as only 134 of the 400 members of parliament constitute a quorum, their absence will not affect the proceedings.
Chief Justice Raymond Zondo will preside over the formalities and the sitting will start with the inauguration of the MPs.
This will be followed by the election of the president, speaker and deputy speaker, who will each need 50% plus 1 of the support of the MPs present. It is expected that Cyril Ramaphosa will be re-elected.
The proceedings will take place in the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
To date the EFF’s ‘fighters’ have mostly been the ones to cause mayhem in parliament, but now Jacob Zuma’s MK ‘soldiers’ have been added to the mix… Interesting times await.
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