WATCH: It's a secret ballot, says Baleka Mbete
Speaker of Parliament Baleka Mbete. Picture: Ian Landsberg Speaker of Parliament Baleka Mbete. Picture: Ian Landsberg
Mbete said she had carefully weighed many different factors and interests, and in particular the considerations stressed by the Constitutional Court when it delivered judgment on the application by opposition parties who tried to force a secret ballot.
She noted that MPs owed a heavy debt to the public who elected them, and were under no legal obligation to maintain allegiance to the party they represented. And she added that the court had reminded all that a vote of no confidence was a potent tool to hold the president to account.
[MUST WATCH] #NoConfidence: The moment speaker #BalekaMbete made her decision.... #SecretBallot
For more >> https://t.co/RWsh3yHZ9h pic.twitter.com/oQQKFfoLcc
— eNCA (@eNCA) August 7, 2017
"I therefore determine that voting on the motion of no confidence in the President on August 8 will be by secret ballot," Mbete told a media briefing.
She declined to answer any questions.