Cape Town - DA leader Helen Zille said that what happened in the Nationla Assembly was a result of no-one respecting the law, down from the president.
“The Speaker cannot under the Constitition call in the police,” she said, adding that the EFF also didn’t respect the law.
“No-one thinks they have to respect the law anymore because the president doesn’t respect the law,” she said.
Speaking on the National Assembly stairs after the DA walked out of President Jacob Zuma’s State of the Nation Address (SONA), Zille said: “Unless the voters see where we are heading - a corrupt state -... then tonight will be just a blip on the radar.”
Deidre Carter, the deputy secretary of Cope, which alongside the UDM, also walked out said the situation was “shocking”.
“The aggression from inside... We don’t agree with their [the EFF] behaviour, but we also can’t have armed security [in the House]. How do they bring armed security and dress them up as ushers,” Carter said.
Meanwhile, six EFF MPs who were injured during their removal from the House by security forces - with accreditation tags marked “high risk” - have gone to hospital. The EFF says it will hold a briefing on Friday.
Outside the Plein Street side entrance to Parliament, ANC supporters continued to sing despite the light rain.
After the outnumbered EFF supporters moved off, so did the police water cannon and most of the police presence.
Political Bureau