Cape Town — The Western Cape High Court upheld the ban placed on some opposition party leaders from attending President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) tomorrow – Thursday, February 9, 2024.
The leader, deputy and four representatives of the Economic Freedom Front (EFF) will not attend this year’s joint sitting of the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces (NCOP) after they were suspended for disrupting Ramaphosa’s 2023 speech in 2023.
The EFF is the third biggest party in the country, and disrupted Parliamentary sessions on several occasions – some resulting in physical altercations.
This SONA is the first to implement new rules where “no member is allowed to interrupt the President while delivering” his annual speech” according to Parliament, in order to maintain order and “decorum” in the Chamber.
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