Teetering on a Two Thirds Majority
By: Gareth Hobbs
2009 will be an important political year for South Africa and two fairly notable events, which could change the face of the country, are set to happen. The first, which is guaranteed, is the national elections. The second - whether or not this occurs may very well depend on the outcome of the elections - is the continuation of the soap opera that is Jacob Zuma’s fraud and corruption trial, otherwise known as Zumagate.
Recently, the ANC launched their political campaign for the elections with Jacob Zuma named as their presidential delegate. At the same time, Jacob Zuma sued Zapiro and the Sunday Times for the cartoon that was run in 2008 depicting JZ and his cronies raping justice. I don’t understand why you would want to bring something back into the news that people had forgotten about. I guess the 7-million reasons that he’s suing for might have had something to do with it.
Following on from this, the result of the NPA appeal, which effectively allowed them (NPA) to reinstate the fraud and corruption charges against Zuma, on 12 January 2008 lead to a new, interesting possibility. We could find ourselves in a position where the president is being investigated for corruption, and perhaps even charged while in office. Or, if the ANC manages a two thirds majority, they could rewrite the constitution, to effectively give the president immunity. This would not really be a great statement in line with the anti-corruption stance the government has been trying to take.
Jacob Zuma has decided to appeal the recent finding, which begs the question: What does he have to hide? I don’t know about you, but if I was innocent I’d be trying to get the NPA to lay charges and take it to court as soon as possible, so I could be acquitted. The more the Zuma defence team delays the court case, the guiltier he begins to seem.
So, the question that needs to be answered by the elections is: will the ANC get the two thirds majority they need in order to change the constitution and grant Zuma immunity should he need it? There’s not much doubt about whether the elections will be won by the ANC. Even with the formation of a strong opposition party, COPE (and the credibility that they were given when the ANC persisted in treating them as a threat) the ANC is likely to win and win comfortably. But, will COPE draw enough of the vote away from the ANC to prevent the rewriting of the constitution?
While the election circus will probably not prove nearly as exciting as the recent show held in the USA, there are still ample opportunities for heroes, and villains to emerge in South Africa’s 2009 race. And, who knows, we might even see COPE become a giant killer and write their names into the history of South Africa.
By: Gareth Hobbs
2009 will be an important political year for South Africa and two fairly notable events, which could change the face of the country, are set to happen. The first, which is guaranteed, is the national elections. The second - whether or not this occurs may very well depend on the outcome of the elections - is the continuation of the soap opera that is Jacob Zuma’s fraud and corruption trial, otherwise known as Zumagate.
Recently, the ANC launched their political campaign for the elections with Jacob Zuma named as their presidential delegate. At the same time, Jacob Zuma sued Zapiro and the Sunday Times for the cartoon that was run in 2008 depicting JZ and his cronies raping justice. I don’t understand why you would want to bring something back into the news that people had forgotten about. I guess the 7-million reasons that he’s suing for might have had something to do with it.
Following on from this, the result of the NPA appeal, which effectively allowed them (NPA) to reinstate the fraud and corruption charges against Zuma, on 12 January 2008 lead to a new, interesting possibility. We could find ourselves in a position where the president is being investigated for corruption, and perhaps even charged while in office. Or, if the ANC manages a two thirds majority, they could rewrite the constitution, to effectively give the president immunity. This would not really be a great statement in line with the anti-corruption stance the government has been trying to take.
Jacob Zuma has decided to appeal the recent finding, which begs the question: What does he have to hide? I don’t know about you, but if I was innocent I’d be trying to get the NPA to lay charges and take it to court as soon as possible, so I could be acquitted. The more the Zuma defence team delays the court case, the guiltier he begins to seem.
So, the question that needs to be answered by the elections is: will the ANC get the two thirds majority they need in order to change the constitution and grant Zuma immunity should he need it? There’s not much doubt about whether the elections will be won by the ANC. Even with the formation of a strong opposition party, COPE (and the credibility that they were given when the ANC persisted in treating them as a threat) the ANC is likely to win and win comfortably. But, will COPE draw enough of the vote away from the ANC to prevent the rewriting of the constitution?
While the election circus will probably not prove nearly as exciting as the recent show held in the USA, there are still ample opportunities for heroes, and villains to emerge in South Africa’s 2009 race. And, who knows, we might even see COPE become a giant killer and write their names into the history of South Africa.
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