Zuma confidence vote will be secret: S.Africa parliament

A parliamentary vote of no confidence in South African President Jacob Zuma will be held by secret ballot, it was announced Monday, a move that could encourage some ANC lawmakers to vote to oust him.

The vote, scheduled for Tuesday, has become a test of African National Congress (ANC) unity as senior party figures have been increasingly critical of their leader, but it is unlikely to succeed in toppling Zuma.

"I... determine that voting on the motion of no confidence in the president on the 8th of August 2017 will be by secret ballot," parliamentary Speaker Baleka Mbete announced, in a decision that took many analysts by surprise.

The president, who came to power in 2009, has been implicated in multiple corruption scandals, while the country's economy has fallen into recession and unemployment has risen to record levels.

The 75-year-old is due to step down as head of the ANC in December, and as president before the 2019 general election -- lessening pressure for his party to seek imminent change.

The Speaker's decision has been subject to a long legal battle waged by opposition parties, with the Constitutional Court ruling that a secret ballot was permissible.

The main opposition Democratic Alliance party said the vote was "an opportunity for us all to stand up to corruption and get rid of President Zuma and his cabinet."