South Africa President survives impeachment attempt

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South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa easily survived on Tuesday a vote in parliament on whether to initiate impeachment proceedings, which could have forced him out of office.

After a contentious discussion, the proposal was defeated by his party's ruling African National Congress (ANC) by 214 votes to 148, with two abstentions.

The impeachment "inquiry will therefore not be proceeded with," declared National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.

It is worth noting that the removal of Ramaphosa could have pushed Africa's most industrialized country into political instability. Because of the backing of the majority of ANC MPs, which has been further splintered by the crisis, Ramaphosa, who was heralded as a hero in the fight against corruption when his predecessor Jacob Zuma was found guilty, survived his removal attempt.

Ramaphosa may have committed significant infractions and misconduct, according to an independent panel's report, which was the subject of the boisterous opening of the extraordinary parliamentary session in Cape Town.

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On March 17, Ramaphosa was reported as saying that NATO's expansion eastward played a role in the Ukraine crisis.

"A view shared by many leading scholars on international relations [is] that the war could have been avoided if NATO had heeded the warnings from among its own leaders and officials over the years that its eastward expansion would lead to greater instability in the region," he said.

In April, South Africa abstained from voting on a resolution suspending Russia from the UN Human Rights Council over the war in Ukraine.

On September 17, South Africa's President argued that the new draft bill the US Congress was examining to impose new sanctions against Russia would actually risk punishing the entire African continent. 

"If the Countering Malign Russia Activities [in Africa] bill were to become a US law, the law could have the unintended consequence of punishing the African continent for efforts to advance development and growth," Ramaphosa said.