Democratic Alliance abstains from voting for Jacob Zuma

Ian Davidson, Chief Whip of the Democratic Alliance
6 May 2009

It is customary for the Democratic Alliance (DA) not to oppose the majority party’s presidential candidate immediately after a general election for the simple reason that the people have just expressed their will.

However, as Mr Zuma is the subject of a review application brought by the DA in respect of the National Prosecuting Authority’s decision to discontinue criminal prosecution against him, we could not support him and therefore had to abstain from the vote.