Mr
Zuma has fought off a series of damaging controversies during his
presidency, and last week came under further pressure after a corruption
probe raised fresh allegations of misconduct.
But the
74-year-old, who came to power in 2009, retains strong loyalty among
ruling Africa National Congress (ANC) lawmakers and many party
activists, particularly in rural areas.
The Democratic
Alliance, the main opposition party, has tabled the no-confidence motion
accusing Mr Zuma of wreaking "havoc on our infant democracy".
"President
Zuma's brand of corruption, economic mismanagement and lies can no
longer continue to exist alongside the project of building a better
South Africa," the party said in a statement.
The
no-confidence vote will be the third in under a year, with the first two
easily defeated by the ANC's majority in parliament.
The
corruption report by the country's top watchdog raised accusations of
possible criminal activity in Mr Zuma's relationship with the Guptas, a
business family accused of wielding undue political influence.
RESIGN
It
included allegations that the Guptas offered Deputy Finance Minister
Mcebisi Jonas a $44 million (40 million euros) bribe, which he said he
refused.
Increasing numbers of anti-apartheid veterans,
ANC activists, trade unions, civil groups and business leaders have
called for Mr Zuma to resign.
But the ANC leadership
scoffed at the no-confidence vote, describing it as "ritualistic" and
"founded on spurious allegations and narrow political motives".
The
ANC, which has ruled since the first post-apartheid elections in 1994,
has seen its popularity dive, with local polls in August delivering its
worst-ever result.
Mr Zuma's term in office ends in
2019, but the ANC is due to elect a new party leader at the end of next
year and could then decide to replace him as head of state.
South
Africa's highest court this year found the president guilty of
violating the constitution after he refused to repay taxpayers' money
used to refurbish his private rural house.
He is also
fighting a court order that could reinstate almost 800 corruption
charges against him over a multi-billion dollar arms deal in the 1990s.
No comments:
Post a Comment