South Africa debates impeachment of Zuma after court ruling

 

Parliament in South Africa is due to vote on an opposition-sponsored motion to impeach President Jacob Zuma after a court ruling against him.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says Mr Zuma is unfit to govern after failing to repay public money used to upgrade his private residence.
The ruling African National Congress (ANC) is expected to defeat the motion.
Opposition calls for speaker Baleka Mbete to resign, after being accused of taking sides, delayed Tuesday's debate.
Ms Mbete announced a short adjournment to consult parliamentary officials.
The ANC has denounced the impeachment proceedings as a publicity stunt.

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The DA said it would demand a secret ballot in the hope that ANC backbenchers would defy the party by helping it obtain the two-thirds majority - 267 MPs out of 400 - required in the lower house, the National Assembly, to impeach Mr Zuma.
However, Ms Mbete has rejected the proposal, saying it is not allowed in terms of parliamentary rules, local media reports say.
The DA has 89 seats in parliament and all opposition parties combined 151.
Mr Zuma is the first president to face an impeachment vote since minority rule ended in 1994.
He has been dogged by allegations of corruption since before he was elected president in 2009.
He was accused of taking bribes over an arms deal but he denied the allegation and the charges were controversially dropped just before he took office.
He later found himself at the centre of controversy over the use of $23m (£15m) of public money to upgrade his private home in the rural area of Nkandla in KwaZulu-Natal province.
In 2014, South Africa's anti-corruption watchdog Thuli Madonsela ordered him to repay a portion of the money.

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How the votes are divided in parliament