KZN Legislature Speaker Denies Request for Secret Ballot Vote in Motion Against Premier Thami Ntuli

• The speaker of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Legislature made a big ruling during a vote of no confidence in Thami Ntuli
• The motion against the Premier, which was heard on 15 December 2025, was brought forward by the uMkhonto WeSizwe (MK) Party
• The speaker's decision did not sit well with the MK Party and the Economic Freedom Fighters in the council chamber

Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent 10 years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism.

KWAZULU-NATAL – There will be no secret ballot when it comes to voting in the Motion of No Confidence against KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Premier Thami Ntuli.

The motion was brought forward by the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party and was debated in the KZN Legislature in Pietermaritzburg on 15 December 2025. The MK Party (37 seats) has the support of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), who have two seats, but need two more votes to have the motion passed with a 41-seat majority.

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Ntuli’s Inkatha Freedom Party, which has 15 seats, has the support of the African National Congress (14 seats), the Democratic Alliance (11 seats) and the National Freedom Party (one seat).

The MK Party were hoping to have the support of the NFP, and also wanted a secret ballot, as it was convinced that other members would discard party allegiance and vote in favour of removing Ntuli from office.

Speaker rules against a secret ballot

Speaker of the KZN Legislature, Nontembeko Nothemba Boyce, denied a request for a secret ballot, saying that the matter was debated openly and would be voted for openly. The MK Party’s Chief Whip, Bonginkosi Mngadi, earlier requested a secret ballot, citing threats against members of his party. He even read out one of the threats in the council chamber, providing the number he received the message from as well.

Boyce’s decision to deny the request sparked outrage among some of the opposition, who argued that the vote to install Ntuli as Premier was conducted via a secret ballot and so the motion against him should be as well.

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Members of the MK Party and EFF also started singing and dancing in the gallery, defying the speaker’s orders to sit down so that the vote could proceed. Some MK Party members promised that they would not proceed with the vote after the speaker refused to hear further argument over her decision to deny a secret ballot.

Other stories about the motion of no-confidence vote

Briefly News has covered several articles about the chaotic sitting in the KZN Legislature and the aftermath of it.

• The National Freedom Party's Mbali Shinga confirmed that she would not be supporting the MK Party's motion.
• Thami Ntuli remained the KZN Premier after the sitting in the Legislature descended into chaos.
• The MK Party promised to return with another motion against the Premier after their first one ended in chaos.

Source: Briefly News