The Democratic Alliance (DA) speaker of the Oudtshoorn Municipality in the Klein Karroo, Pierre Nel, has been fired, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) reported on Thursday.
Nel and four other DA members were suspended after siding with the African National Congress (ANC) in a bid to vote out former Independent Democrat’s (ID) mayor Jeffrey Swartbooi.
The DA’s Western Cape leadership said the action was in conflict with the coalition agreement.
A motion of no confidence was brought against Swartbooi, with five DA councillors and eight ANC councillors supporting the motion.
Swartbooi was voted out and DA councillor James Swigelaar was voted in as mayor, but immediately after the meeting he and the other four DA councillors were suspended by the party.
By voting Swartbooi out, the DA councillors had gone against the party’s policy of working with the ID in the Western Cape. – Sapa