Cape Town - The State of the Nation Address got off to a rocky start on Thursday over the blocking of cellphone signals in Parliament.
The Democratic Alliance and the Freedom Front Plus told Speaker Baleka Mbete proceedings could not go on until the cellphone signal was unblocked.
DA Parliamentary leader Musi Maimane even threatened to go to court over the matter.
Economic Freedom Front chief whip Floyd Shivambu then called for an adjournment until that matter was resolved.
Opposition parties argued that by jamming the signal, the constitution was being contravened.
Mbete’s initial reaction was that she would instruct Parliament’s secretary to look into the matter.
Earlier opposition MPs stood up in the National Assembly and chanted: "Bring back the signal.”
Journalists had also launched a protest in the press gallery of the National Assembly on Thursday evening over not having any cellphone reception to file their stories.
The SA National Editors Forum (Sanef) condemned the jamming of cellphone signals inside the National Assembly.
"This disrupts the functioning of the media particularly as journalists are filing using cellphone signal for digital platforms, sending pictures back to their main offices and updating Facebook and Twitter accounts for various publications," Sanef executive director Mthatha Tsedu said.
"We call on the leadership of Parliament to reverse this decision immediately in the interest of a free and democratic Parliament which is the cornerstone of our democracy."
IOL and Sapa