The newly inaugurated South African parliament has appointed the country’s Agriculture, land reform and rural development minister Thoko Didiza as speaker of the National Assembly.
In the fifth assembly, Didiza served as one of three house chairpersons between 2014 and 2019.
Due to its agreement with the ANC, the DA did not nominate its members for the position of speaker. It threw its weight behind Didiza who secured 284 votes of 332 valid votes. 9 ballot papers were invalidated.
EFF MP Veronica Mente, who challenged Didiza got 49 votes.
DA nominated Annelie Lotriet for deputy speaker, while African Transformation Movement leader Vuyo Zungula nominated was nominated by the EFF.
Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie said his party supported Didiza and would vote for the election of Cyril Ramaphosa and the deputy speaker.
In an interview with reporters, DA leader John Steenhuisen said his party would also endorse Ramaphosa as president which would take place later Friday and that the DA would nominate a candidate for the deputy speaker.
The role of the Speaker of Parliament is highly influential, shaping the tone and agenda of parliamentary sessions and managing debates. Historically, previous speakers have often favoured the ruling ANC.
With two nominees for the position, ballot papers had to be prepared, leading to a suspension of proceedings for lunch. MPs voted manually by secret ballot in designated ballot booths.
The EFF raised an objection regarding the vote counting process, noting that it would occur in a separate room rather than on the floor of the National Assembly under MPs’ observation. In response, presiding officer Chief Justice Raymond Zondo agreed to allow each political party to send one observer to the counting room.
Another objection came from EFF Deputy President Floyd Shivambu, who requested a 30-minute break to caucus and consolidate the EFF’s views on the process. This request came after the swearing-in of MPs, who were required to take an oath or affirmation of office.
Initially, Zondo ignored the request and continued with proceedings. However, after Shivambu repeated his request, Zondo questioned why the party had not caucused earlier, knowing what was to happen. Eventually, Zondo permitted a 15-minute comfort break, which extended to about 25 minutes.
The EFF MPs arrived 30 minutes late for the swearing-in but all were eventually sworn in.
The MK did not participate in the proceedings, and Secretary to Parliament Xolile George indicated that their swearing-in would occur later.
Excluding the 58 MK candidates, the total number of MPs is 342. The seat distribution in the National Assembly is as follows: ANC with 159 seats, DA 87, EFF 39, IFP 17, Patriotic Alliance 9, FF+ and ActionSA six each, ACDP and UDM three each, ATM, Al Jama-ah, Bosa, NCC, and Rise Mzansi two each, and Good, PAC, and UAT one each.