Cape Town — There were rowdy scenes at the first sitting of South Africa's Parliament since the recent elections as members of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) heckled old comrades-turned-opponents and noisily elected party leader Jacob Zuma as President of South Africa.
Upon entering the National Assembly, one might have expected the members of the house all to be seated and quiet as they waited for proceedings to begin. The men were smartly dressed in suits, and women either wore bright-coloured suits with big hats or traditional African attire with matching headgear.
But on Wednesday, parliamentarians were all engaged in loud laughter and animated chit-chatter as they gathered. There was a flurry of excitement and anticipation as they prepared to be sworn into office and to elect a Speaker, a deputy speaker and a new president. Under the Constitution, the president is elected by Parliament, not by direct vote.
Five minutes before proceedings were about to begin a booming voice over a loudspeaker tried to quiet the 400 or so people. But less than a minute later they erupted into loud laughter and chatting once again.
Zuma seemed relaxed and composed in the front benches – appearing in Parliament for the first time since 2005, when his predecessor, then-president Thabo Mbeki fired him as deputy president after he was named in a trial in which his former financial adviser had been convicted.
Finally, everyone in the National Assembly stood for the entrance of South Africa's Chief Justice, Pius Langa, followed by the national anthem. After Chief Justice Langa read out the formalities, the new members of Parliament recited their oaths in small groups.
But ANC MPs booed loudly when it was the turn of Mvume Dandala and Mbhazima Shilowa, the leaders of the Congress of the People (COPE), to take their oaths. COPE was formed by ANC members who broke away from the party last year.
When the time for the presidential election came, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela proposed Zuma. COPE was again greeted by a mixture of applause and boos when they nominated their presidential candidate – Dandala.
The ANC's main opposition, the Democratic Alliance, did not put forward a candidate but abstained from voting on the grounds that they were still pursuing a court application aimed at having Zuma stand trial on corruption charges.
When proceedings were suspended to arrange the ballots and voting booths, ANC members and supporters in the gallery erupted into raucous singing, dancing and clapping, all in praise of Zuma. They chanted his name and his clan name, Msholozi, and even sang his theme song, "Umshini Wami" (Bring me my machine).
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All the while Zuma remained cool and composed in his seat. The National Assembly seemed like a circus gone wild. Or perhaps MPs were entertaining themselves as they waited for the roll call to begin?
In another sign that COPE is in for a rough ride, another senior leader, Lynda Odendaal – a newcomer to politics – was greeted by "miaows" as she was called forward to vote. (The ANC's chief whip later agreed that his members had acted in an unparliamentary manner.)
The voting process and tallying of results took about two- and-a-half hours. In the end Zuma secured 277 votes and Dandala 47.
Zuma said in his acceptance speech that he was overwhelmed by the responsibility being thrust upon his shoulders. He promised to focus on five key areas during his tenure: education, health, land reform and rural development, crime and jobs.
