Johannesburg – The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Thursday said its #NoConfidence petition against President Jacob Zuma, whose recent midnight Cabinet reshuffle had ignited a backlash, has exceeded 500 000 signatures.
Phumzile Van Damme, MP and DA National spokesperson, said following Zuma’s reshuffle, her party launched the petition at noconfidence.co.za encouraging the public to be co-signatories in the motion of no confidence against the President.
"In addition to an online petition, our activists and public representatives have been going door-to-door in every corner of South Africa encouraging support for the petition," sad Van Damme.
"The support on the ground has been overwhelming, with so many South Africans supporting the petition and expressing anger at Jacob Zuma's refusal to leave the presidency in the face of widespread protests."
Van Damme said more than half a million South Africans have already signed the online version of the petition. She said the huge number of signatories was a remarkable showing of rejection for Zuma, and an endorsement of the DA and other opposition parties' campaign to see the President being fired by Parliament.
"It is clear that the people of South Africa have no confidence in Jacob Zuma. The past two weeks' enormous groundswell of protest action against Zuma, along with this growing petition, show that Zuma must go," said the DA spokesperson.
"We thank the patriotic South Africans who are coming out in numbers to oppose Zuma’s corruption, recklessness and self-enrichment in mass action across the country, including yesterday’s National Day of Action.
"We encourage the public to continue protesting, no act is too small."
Van Damme said the DA will continue to use all means available – petitions, parliamentary mechanisms, litigation and will march along with all South Africans en masse across our country "until Zuma is gone".
She said: "The President has betrayed the people of South Africa, and has sold our country to the Guptas, to corrupt individuals, who seek to serve their own interests and not the interest of the people.
"When the motion of no confidence is rescheduled by Parliament, the ANC [African National Congress] must make the right decision, humble themselves and listen to the people, and vote out Jacob Zuma. It is now only the ANC standing in the way of the will of the people."