First presidency committee meeting ends in stalemate over procedure to elect chair

The first meeting of a Parliamentary Presidency Committee has ended in a stalemate over the procedure to elect a chairperson.

The committee sat for the first time on Wednesday morning since Parliament finally agreed in 2025 to establish the oversight committee after years of stonewalling by the African National Congress (ANC).

Three nominations have been made for chairperson.

But it was the Democratic Alliance (DA)’s nomination of its chief whip, George Michalakis, that caused proceedings to stall.

Wednesday’s meeting got off to a rocky start over whether alternate members of the 11-member committee were allowed to vote for the chairperson.

ALSO READ: EFF, MK Party support proposal from DA for parliamentary oversight body over Presidency

A caucus break was called to iron out procedural matters only for members to be tripped up by Michalakis seconding his nomination proposed by his deputy, Baxolile Nodada, to chair the committee.

The ANC nominated its deputy chief whip, Doris Mpapane, for the job, while the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) nominated the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party’s newly appointed chief whip, Mmabatho Mokoena-Zondi.

Mpapane received the most votes with five, Mokoena-Zondi with four, and Michalakis with two.

After a second pause in proceedings, committee secretary Mvaba Dumezweni said while the house rules did not appear to prohibit Michalakis from supporting his nomination, he did not feel comfortable to proceed.

“The way forward will definitely be determined by the advice we are going to get after thorough consultations have been conducted.”

Members of Parliament (MPs) have called for the meeting to resume later this week, with members split over whether voting should take place from scratch or that a determination is made from the votes already cast.