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| South Africa court allows secret Zuma no-confidence vote | South Africa court allows secret Zuma no-confidence vote |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| South Africa's highest court has ruled that a vote of no-confidence against President Jacob Zuma can be held in secret. | South Africa's highest court has ruled that a vote of no-confidence against President Jacob Zuma can be held in secret. |
| The constitutional court said that the Speaker of parliament had the right to order such a move. She has previously said she did not have the power. | |
| Opposition parties believe that under a secret ballot, MPs from Mr Zuma's ANC party would vote against him. | |
| He has survived several previous votes of no-confidence. | He has survived several previous votes of no-confidence. |
| Mr Zuma has been under constant pressure over everything from corruption allegations to a controversial cabinet reshuffle that saw his widely respected finance minister fired. | Mr Zuma has been under constant pressure over everything from corruption allegations to a controversial cabinet reshuffle that saw his widely respected finance minister fired. |
| Delivering his verdict, Chief Justice Mgoeng Mgoeng said that under South Africa's separation of powers, it was up to the Speaker of parliament to decide how the vote was conducted. | |
| The speaker, Baleka Mbete, is a top ANC official and had argued that the rules of parliament did not allow for a secret ballot. | |
| A new date for a motion of no-confidence now has to be set. | A new date for a motion of no-confidence now has to be set. |
| On top of the confidence votes, President Zuma has lost a number of prominent court cases against him, including one which ended with him being ordered to pay back a portion of state funds used to refurbish his private home in Nkandla. | |
| But it was the reshuffle that proved particularly damaging, with Mr Zuma facing calls from within his own party to resign. | |
| His term ends in 2019 but he is due to stand down as ANC leader later this year. |