FIRST SESSION OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CAPE TOWN 000102 DEPARTMENT FOR AF/S RMARBURG, MJAMES SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM SF SUBJECT: FIRST SESSION OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 1 (U) Summary. On May 6, African National Congress President Jacob Zuma was elected as South Africa's fourth post apartheid President during the first session of the National Assembly. Zuma's election comes as no surprise since the ANC has a 65.9 percent majority in Parliament and because Zuma has been long seen as the front runner in the race for President ever since the ANC's conference in Polokwane in December, 2007. Although The Congress of the People (COPE) proposed an alternate candidate in party chairman Mvume Dandala, Zuma was the clear winner with 277 votes out of 327. After Zuma's election, all opposition parties publically congratulated him on his Presidency and expressed their hope that both the ruling and opposition parties could work together. End summary. ¶2. (U) Prior to Zuma's election as President, Chief Justice Pius Langa convened the South African National Assembly. During its inaugural session, the first since the recent April 22 national elections, 400 members of Parliament were sworn in, a Speaker and Deputy Speaker were elected, and candidates for President were nominated. Among the first group of ten to take the oath was ANC President Jacob Zuma. (Note: In order to be eligible for the nomination of President a candidate must be a member of parliament. End note) ¶3. (U) Veteran African National Congress member Max Sisulu was elected Speaker of the National Assembly. Sisulu was nominated by ANC stalwart Andrew Mlangeni, a nomination that went unopposed. In his acceptance speech Sisulu, who is the first male to fill the position since 1994, joked that he expected MPs to make the mistake of calling him Madam Speaker. Former Cape Town Mayor Nomaindia Mfeketo was elected as Deputy Speaker. ¶4. (U) After the 400 Members of Parliament were sworn in and the Speaker and Deputy Speaker were elected, the Speaker called for the nomination of the President. Winnie Mandela, former wife of President Nelson Mandela, nominated Jacob Zuma on behalf of the ANC. The Congress of the People (COPE) proposed an alternate candidate in party chairman Mvume Dandala. As the Parliamentary staff was setting up the Chamber for voting, ANC members were singing a tribute song to Zuma and dancing in the aisles and in middle of the floor and had to be called to order and told to return to their seats. Members were then called on to vote by secret ballot, the Democratic Alliance (DA),who hold 67 seats in Parliament, caused a stir in the National Assembly when it announced that it would abstain from the vote. ¶5. (U) With the ANC having a 65.9 percent majority in Parliament, Zuma was a "sure-thing" as President, which is one of the reasons the DA abstained from the vote. Out of a total of 327 ballots that were cast, Zuma secured 277 votes, Dandala received 47 votes and 3 ballots were spoiled. Cheers erupted from the floor once the vote was read. Opposition parties were then afforded the opportunity to congratulate Zuma on his election. All the parties were gracious in their congratulations to Zuma and all stressed the need for the ruling party and opposition parties to work together. COPE President Dandala gave Zuma his party's best wishes. "Mr. Speaker, Mr. President-elect, on behalf of Cope, I wish to congratulate you sir on your election as the President of South Africa. We accept that the people of South Africa have spoken and we will give our Qthat the people of South Africa have spoken and we will give our support to the highest office of this nation." In his remarks to President Zuma, The representative from the Minority Front party stressed the need to include opposition parties, namely the Minority Front party, in the Cabinet. The Democratic Alliance responded by saying it was not appropriate for the Minority Front party to lobby Zuma for a job in a public forum. ¶6. (U) In his acceptance speech President-elect Zuma said he looks forward to reconciliation between the ANC and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). Note. The IFP, a traditional Zulu party, is based in KZN and there were several incidents of violence in the lead up to the elections between the ANC and IFP in the Province. End note. He also promised more pro-poor policies to improve housing, education, jobs, services and crime prevention for South Africa's impoverished. He has also warned that the global economic downturn may limit his room for maneuvering, but stressed his commitment to the people of South Africa. Comment. Zuma takes on an economy that may already be in its first recession in 17 years. Despite fears that internal political pressure would force him to pursue left-leaning economic policies he maintains that he will not tamper with existing fiscal policy. The fate of Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, widely respected by financial markets, will also be closely watched by investors hoping for continuity. End comment. Zuma will be inaugurated on May 9 and Presidency spokesperson Thabo Masebe confirmed that the composition of the Cabinet will be announced in Pretoria a day after Zuma's inauguration. During his speech, Zuma said his Cabinet will be ready to assume office by May 11. ¶7. (U) During his remarks, Zuma jokingly said he wants an honorary life time membership in Parliament since he has been in and out of Parliament several times, but is no longer a Member of Parliament now that he has been elected President. Note. Zuma was forced to resign as deputy head of state in 2005 after his financial adviser CAPE TOWN 00000102 002 OF 002 was handed a 15-year prison sentence for bribery charges. Zuma has been in and out of courtrooms over the last few years on charges of corruption and money-laundering relating to the arms deal. His supporters say the charges were politically motivated to prevent him from becoming President, a claim the opposition dismisses. After an internal struggle with then President Mbeki, Zuma was elected as chairman of the ANC at the Polokwane conference in December 2007, a move which ultimately resulted in the removal of Mbeki as President in 2008. All charges against Zuma were dropped a few weeks before the April 22 election, clearing the way for him to assume the Presidency. End note. .