DEPUTY Speaker Baleka Mbete was on Monday re-elected for a second five-year term, weathering a challenge from the Democratic Party — the first in its role as official opposition — in which the party nominated its own candidate for the post. Mbete had already been nominated by fellow African National Congress MP Bertha Gxowa, when DP Chief Whip Douglas Gibson surprised the House by nominating MP Dene Smuts. Mbete was duly elected by 326 votes to Smuts’ 47, indicating that both candidates gained the support of some of the smaller opposition parties. The DP did not oppose the earlier nomination of Dr Frene Ginwala, who was returned as Speaker for a second five-year term.