South African opposition boycotts Zuma speech

South African President Jacob Zuma on Thursday asked for more orderly debates by lawmakers in parliament after most opposition parties boycotted his speech in the assembly.

Several MPs from the ultra-left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) were forcibly ejected from parliament on Wednesday as they sought to prevent Zuma from giving a speech.

On Thursday, the main opposition Democratic Alliance party, the EFF and six smaller ones were absent as Zuma gave a speech in reply to issues raised during the previous day, saying the president was “discredited” after court rulings against him.

Zuma last month survived an impeachment call in parliament after the Constitutional Court in March that found that the president had breached the constitution. On Friday, a High Court judge ruled that Zuma should face 783 corruption charges that had been dropped in 2009 by state prosecutors.