Politics

EXPECTED TO TOE THE LINE

CAPE TOWN - The ANC expects all party MPs to toe the party line when they vote in support of Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula as Speaker of the National Assembly on Thursday, says ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina. The EFF has said it would not take part in the election of the new Speaker.

Mapisa-Nqakula’s nomination has sparked controversy, with some of the parties refusing to be drawn into the process. There was also a threat of legal action if Parliament went ahead with the election but Majodina said the election would proceed as planned and the ANC expected all its MPs to be in the House.

DELAY IN ANNOUCING REPLACEMENT FOR PREMIER JOB MOKGORO

JOHANNESBURG - The African National Congress (ANC) in the North West said that it would only announce a new premier for the province after meeting and communicating with structures on the matter.

Interim provincial committee (IPC) coordinator, Hlomane Chauke, said that no new appointment would be announced on Monday. He also said there was no agreed date for when current Premier Job Mokgoro should step down.

ZAMBIA LEADER CONGRADULATES SUCCESSOR

LUSAKA - Zambia's outgoing leader Edgar Lungu on Monday conceded defeat and congratulated his successor and longtime rival Hakainde Hichilema, who scored a landslide victory in a bitterly contested presidential election.

"I would therefore like to congratulate my brother... Hichilema for becoming the seventh republican president," he said in a radio address.

Lungu promised to comply with the "constitutional provision for a peaceful transition of power".

The 64-year-old, who came to power in 2015, said that when he had to serve out the term of his predecessor Michael Sata who died in office, that victory had been "unexpected" and he "accepted it with humility and gratitude".