Parliament is due to elect the new National Assembly speaker on Thursday August 19 at a special sitting.
This is according to a draft programme of the National Assembly that was circulated on Wednesday. The programme is due to be adopted by a multiparty programme committee of the house on Thursday morning.
The position of speaker became vacant during the recent cabinet reshuffle by President Cyril Ramaphosa when he appointed Thandi Modise as his new defence minister, replacing Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, who was not retained in any capacity.
However, in an almost instant comeback, Mapisa-Nqakula is likely to replace Modise after the ANC announced on Tuesday that she was their preferred candidate for the speaker position.
But before she can take over, Mapisa-Nqakula’s candidacy has to be adopted by the majority of the 400 members of the National Assembly. This would be done by secret ballot if there is more than one candidate nominated in terms of the constitution.
Acting chief justice Raymond Zondo was expected to preside over the special sitting next week Thursday.
The DA and other parties, including the UDM, have come out against the ANC’s nomination of Mapisa-Nqakula, citing what they call her poor track record in government.
TimesLIVE
