Johannesburg, Dec 5 (AFP/APP):South Africa’s ruling ANC party rallied around embattled President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday, on the eve of a parliamentary vote that could lead to his impeachment.
In an eventful day, Ramaphosa, who has been under heavy political pressure, mounted an 11th-hour legal bid to have a damning report on an alleged cover-up of a cash robbery at his farm annulled.
Top African National Congress leaders who had met to discuss his future decided to stand by the president and oppose any motion seeking to remove him.
“Should parliament proceed tomorrow, the ANC will not support that vote,” ANC interim secretary-general Paul Mashatile told reporters after day-long talks.
Parliament is scheduled on Tuesday to debate the report submitted last week by an independent panel which found that Ramaphosa “may have committed” serious violations and misconduct.
The parliament sitting is a step that could lead to a vote on forcing Ramaphosa from office.
For him to be forced out, two-thirds of the assembly must vote in favour of a removal motion. The ANC has 230 out of 400 seats.
In papers filed to the Constitutional Court and made available to the media by his spokesman, the president petitioned to have the report “reviewed, declared unlawful and set aside”.
The move helped consolidate party support for Ramaphosa, as Mashatile cited it as the reason for the decision by the ANC’s highest body — the National Executive Committee (NEC) — to back Ramaphosa.
The president has insisted he would not resign after the special panel’s report, but his political future remains uncertain.
On Monday he briefly attended an NEC meeting which discussed the crisis.
He left shortly afterwards, smiling and waving to the media, having recused himself from the meeting, in line with standard practice for a person under discussion.
Forged by Nelson Mandela into the weapon that led the fight against apartheid, the ANC has been deeply divided by the affair, but after a pendulum swing a majority now seems be backing the president.
A small group of demonstrators, some supporting the president, others calling for him to go, gathered outside the meeting in the Johannesburg area of Nasrec.
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