LIVE: DA’s Steenhuisen casts vote for Parliament speaker, presumably for ANC’s Thoko Didiza

Chief Justice Raymond Zondo is swearing in new members of the National Assembly at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC). Once the new members of Parliament (MPs) have taken their oaths, a new speaker, deputy speaker and president of South Africa will be elected.

Parliament’s bells have started ringing, meaning the counting of votes has been completed and MPs need to return to the chamber for the announcement of results of the election of the speaker. Will it be Thoko Didiza or Veronica Mente?

DA leader John Steenhuisen has voted for the speaker. After the announcement of the DA’s coalition with the ANC, it is assumed he has voted for the ANC’s Thoko Didiza.

“The DA has reached agreement on the statement of intent for the formation of a government of national unity,” Steenhuisen said on Friday afternoon.

According to this agreement, the DA’s Annelie Lotriet is certain to be deputy speaker of the House.

Former health minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, has voted.

Removed from Cabinet after allegations of corruption linked to the infamous Digital Vibes scandal, Mkhize is now a backbencher for the ANC.

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has cast his vote for the speaker of the National Assembly, presumably for Veronica Mente, who is challenging the ANC’s Thoko Didiza for the position.

Mente is the EFF’s national chairperson.

Mdumiseni Ntuli, the ANC head of elections, has replaced Pemmy Majodina as the party’s chief whip in Parliament.

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen is making an address at the CTICC. He says Cyril Ramaphosa will be re-elected as president of South Africa.

DA MPs will vote in unison with the ANC’s parliamentarians, solidifying the party’s coalition at national level.

“In terms of the agreement, the DA will assume various leadership roles, in the national Cabinet, the National Assembly, the National Council of Provinces and on parliamentary portfolio committees, broadly in proportion to our share of seats, within the government of national unity,” Steenhuisen said on Friday afternoon.

This collaboration between ANC and DA marks a stark contrast to sentiments Steenhuisen expressed immediately after 29 May elections, where the DA leader said Ramaphosa deserved the electoral trouncing they received, due to the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party emergence, led by former president Jacob Zuma.

“Had Zuma been where he belongs, which is in jail for the 784 charges of fraud, corruption, and racketeering that Ramaphosa and his party have protected and shielded him from for the last 15 years, perhaps he wouldn’t be leading a political party today. He would be incarcerated in a correctional services facility,” Steenhuisen said in May.

The ANC’s Thoko Didiza has been nominated as speaker of the National Assembly. She was nominated by Pemmy Majodina, the ANC’s former chief whip in Parliament. African Transformation Movement’s Vuyo Zungula has nominated the EFF’s Veronica Mente to challenge Didiza for the position. Voting for the two will be done via secret ballot.

Between 2014 and 2019, Didiza was house chairperson of the National Assembly.

Thoko Didiza

Veronica Mente

MPs have now been sworn in. EFF deputy president, Floyd Shivambu, has requested a 30-minute break to caucus with his party members, before the election of the speaker and deputy speaker.

“We want to consolidate our position,” Shivambu tells Zondo. The chief justice has paused proceedings for 15 minutes.

Rise Mzansi, a new party in the National Assembly, has two seats. They are occupied by Makashule Gana, formerly of the DA, and newspaper editor-turned-politician Songezo Zibi.

Makashule Gana and Songezo Zibi. Image: Parliament of South Africa

I swear that I will be faithful to the Republic of South Africa and will obey, respect and uphold the Constitution and all other law of the Republic.

I solemnly promise to perform my functions as a member of the National Assembly.

The @Rise_Mzansi Contract with the people of… pic.twitter.com/lJdKml9B8K

— Songezo Zibi (@SongezoZibi) June 14, 2024

Mmusi Maimane, previously an MP with the DA, is now back in the National Assembly, but this time with his Build One South Africa (BOSA) party. BOSA has two seats in the House.

MK Party members’ names, including Des van Rooyen and Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, were called to take their oaths. However, no one stepped up, after they declared that they were boycotting the first sitting of Parliament, over unproven allegations of electoral fraud. Parliament even cancelled their travel and accommodation arrangements.

However, they are being sworn in at legislatures in the different provinces.

[WATCH] MK Party members’ names are called for them to take the oath of office as MPs, but they are not available. Among the notable names are Visvin Reddy, David Skosana, Des van Rooyen and Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla.#Newzroom405 pic.twitter.com/jej53unEha

— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) June 14, 2024

Members of the EFF, led by Julius Malema, have taken their oaths of office. The Red Berets have entered the seventh Parliament with a decreased number of seats (39), after a below-par performance during the 29 May elections. They are now the fourth-biggest party in Parliament, after being supplanted by the MK Party.

Leader of the Patriotic Alliance (PA), Gayton McKenzie, has been sworn in. McKenzie and his party are newbies to the House. Once an “evil” bank robber, McKenzie is one of four PA MPs in the National Assemby.

Incumbent president and deputy president, Cyril Ramaphosa and Paul Mashatile, have been sworn in as members of the new National Assembly.

Once the president is elected, he or she ceases to be a member of the Parliament and must be sworn into office within five days. Thereafter, he or she names a Cabinet to help him or her run the executive government in Pretoria.

Read here for the list of candidates taking their oaths in Parliament.