An EFF-sponsored legal bid to force a secret ballot in a vote of no confidence in premier Supra Mahumapelo has ground the process to an almost dead stop.
The EFF launched an urgent court bid to force North West provincial speaker Susan Dantje to allow the vote to be held via secret ballot. Dantje then postponed the motion, pending the outcome of court proceedings.
The party's lawyers are now engaged with their counterparts from the speaker's office in the North West provincial legislature, arguing whether all other avenues were exhausted before the EFF approached the courts.
This has stalled the motion of no confidence in Mahumapelo, initially scheduled for April 17, by more than a week — and still, the court has not provided a date by which it will deliver a verdict on the EFF's urgent application.
EFF chairperson in the province, Betty Diale, told HuffPost that she did not have a date for a verdict.
"There is ongoing correspondence between the EFF's attorneys and [those] of the speaker's office. The argument is about whether we have exhausted all other internal avenues first, before approaching the court," she said.
"Part of [that] is giving reasons why the motion must be voted on by secret ballot — and we have given those reasons. We are waiting for responses now — hopefully soon."
The call for the premier's removal first came last month from the National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (Nehawu) during a march to the provincial legislature. Their calls were echoed by members of various communities and soon filtered through to politicians.
The SA Communist Party (SACP) and the SA National Civic Association in the province, which are ANC alliance partners, have also joined the calls for Mahumapelo's removal.
The EFF also believe it has garnered enough support from the ANC benches in the legislature for the motion of no confidence in the premier to be successful. Their bid for a secret ballot is to "protect" ANC members voting against Mahumepelo.
The calls for Mahumapelo's removal culminated last week in violent protests erupting in the province's capital, Mahikeng — with running battles between police and protesters, looting of stores, the destruction and burning of property, and barricading of roads into the CBD. Ramaphosa had to cut short his visit to the U.K. to convene an urgent meeting with ANC leaders over the protests.