National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete on Monday granted a secret ballot for the vote of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma, which will take place on Tuesday.

Addressing the media, Mbete added that she was elected by the National Assembly to perform the role of speaker and that as long as her role did not change, she would not recuse herself from tomorrow’s proceedings, as opposition parties suggested should happen, as it had no legal basis.

She said her decision was made in the best interest of the country and was made to put the resilience of South Africa’s democratic institutions to the test.

“I have considered the environment and heard voices expressing doubt in the integrity [of institutions] and doubt in South Africa’s 20-year Constitution. I have conducted a thorough assessment of the situation and how it will impact all members. The people of South Africa look to Parliament to give direction in challenging times and we must not underestimate this responsibility,” she stated.

In making her decision Mbete had reflected on the Constitutional Court’s ruling in June that a vote of no confident in the President was constitutionally permissible whether through open vote or secret ballot and that the Speaker had power to decide the procedure.

“I am mindful of the fact that, I as speaker, when exercising this power to determine a procedure must do so on a proper and rational basis. I invited political parties represented in the National Assembly to provide their views on the matter. And I also requested legal advice,” Mbete revealed.

The secret ballot was a potent tool toward holding the President to account, she said, and added that she accepted and understood that a member of Parliament takes an oath of office to be faithful to the Republic and to obey its laws.