National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete has announced the voting procedure to be followed during Tuesday’s much anticipated motion of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma will be conducted by way of a secret ballot, reports The Citizen.

Addressing the media in parliament, Mbete said she took the extraordinary approach “in the interest of transparency” and her decision is the best interests of the country.

She said she would not recuse herself from preceding over the motion as requested by some opposition parties, saying it has “no constitutional basis and is legally misplaced”.

Opposition parties, who asked for secret ballot, had threatened to challenge Mbete’s decision in court after the Constitutional Court in June left it to her discretion to decide on the voting procedure.

The ConCourt said the speaker had to consider the prevailing circumstances before making her decision on the secret ballot request such as rationality and Parliament’s constitutional mandate to hold the executive to account.

ANC MPs have been warned by the governing party to toe the party line when they cast their ballots in the eighth motion of no confidence against Zuma in the National Assembly.

The party’s outspoken MPs Makhosi Khosa, Pravin Gordhan, Mondli Gungubele and Derek Hanekom have all stated their intention to vote with their conscience during the vote.