South Africa to impeach President Cyril Ramaphosa? Voting soon

Johannesburg, Dec 13 (AP) South African lawmakers are to vote Tuesday on whether to start impeachment proceedings against President Cyril Ramaphosa over a report that says he held undeclared foreign currency at his farm in 2020. 

The crucial vote comes after a damning parliamentary report alleged that Ramaphosa illegally hid at least USD 580,000 in cash in a sofa at his Phala Phala game ranch. It said he did not report the theft of the money to police in order to avoid questions over how he got the foreign currency and why he had not declared it to authorities.

The report has brought Ramaphosa's opponents ? opposition parties and even rivals within his party, the ruling African National Congress ? to call for him to step down.

Lawmakers will need a two-thirds majority to launch impeachment proceedings against Ramaphosa which is unlikely because his ANC party decided last week to stand by him. The ANC holds 230 of the 400 seats in parliament so the ruling party can block any move to start the impeachment proceedings.

The ANC has said its lawmakers will oppose any moves to have Ramaphosa impeached, saying it will vote against the adoption of the report.

The parliamentary vote comes in a week where Ramaphosa will also be fighting for his political life as he seeks to be re-elected the leader of the ANC at its national conference starting in Johannesburg on Friday.

The conference will also elect members of the party's National Executive Committee, which is the party's highest decision-making body.

Ramaphosa must be re-elected as the ANC leader in order to stand for re-election to a second term as South Africa's president in 2024.