South African President Zuma Narrowly Survives No-confidence Vote

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South Africa’s embattled president, Jacob Zuma, has narrowly survived an eighth attempt by parliament to unseat him in a vote of no confidence.

After nearly five hours of debate, voting and counting, 198 of the 384 members present voted against the opposition’s motion to oust the president, while 177 voted for him to step down. The motion needed 201 votes to pass. Nine members abstained from voting during the secret ballot.

Although this means Zuma will not have to step down, this sizeable opposition portends a difficult few months for him as his ruling African National Congress prepares to choose a new party leader in December. The ANC lost three major metropolitan areas in the last round of local elections in 2016, largely because of Zuma’s growing unpopularity amid long-simmering corruption scandals.

ANC members celebrated the victory by dancing in parliament, and by celebrating outside. But even they seemed aware that the ANC’s travails may not be over.

“This is not the first test -- or the last,” proclaimed Police Minister Fikile Mbalula to a jubilant crowd outside of parliament in Cape Town.

That test may come from within the party, too -- the opposition holds only 151 seats in parliament. For the vote to reach 177, that means that at least two dozen ANC members voted against their leader.