South African President Jacob Zuma survives impeachment vote

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South Africa's parliament has beaten back an attempt to impeach President Jacob Zuma over a spending scandal at his village home, but the pressure on Mr. Zuma continued to intensify as a former finance minister called for his resignation.

In a historic vote on Tuesday, the first ever on an impeachment motion in the post-apartheid era, South African MPs voted 233 to 143 to defeat the motion. The ruling African National Congress (ANC) used its 62-per-cent majority to shield Mr. Zuma from impeachment, despite a court ruling that he had violated the constitution.

South Africa's highest court, the Constitutional Court, ruled last week that Mr. Zuma had acted illegally by ignoring an order to pay back some of the $27-million (U.S.) in state funds that were spent on "upgrades" to his village home.

The ruling was just the latest blow to the beleaguered President, who is widely accused of corruption for his family's close relationship with the Gupta business family. The ANC is badly divided over Mr. Zuma's fate, with some ANC officials reportedly making private entreaties to the President to resign, but officially the party has closed ranks behind him.

A growing number of party elders have urged Mr. Zuma to quit. The latest is Trevor Manuel, the much-respected finance minister from 1996 to 2009 who served under Nelson Mandela and two other presidents.

Mr. Zuma had committed "a violation of the key oath of office of the Head of State, which I think is a deep crisis," Mr. Manuel told a South African television channel on Tuesday. "I think it's in all of our interests that the president actually steps aside."

Another famed ANC stalwart and Mandela comrade, Ahmed Kathrada, wrote an open letter to Mr. Zuma on the weekend, warning him that there is growing "momentum" for the resignation demands.

"Don't you think your continued stay as president will only serve to deepen the crisis of confidence in the government?" Mr. Kathrada asked Mr. Zuma in the letter.

"Comrade President, are you aware that your outstanding contribution to the liberation struggle stands to be severely tarnished if the remainder of your term as President continues to be dogged by crises and a growing public loss of confidence in the ANC and government as a whole? I know that if I were in the President's shoes, I would step down with immediate effect."

Mmusi Maimane, leader of the opposition Democratic Alliance, gave a blazing speech to parliament in support of the impeachment motion, but he predicted accurately that the ANC would vote to protect its leader. "It will be recorded that ANC members of this parliament chose to defend a crooked, broken President, instead of the constitution and the rule of law," Mr. Maimane told the debate.

"Today will signal – once and for all – that the ANC has lost its way, and that there is no way back. Corruption has infected the entire party like a cancer."

Deputy justice minister John Jeffery, speaking against the motion, argued that Mr. Zuma had not intentionally broken the constitution. He said it wasn't a "serious" breach of the law, and he said Mr. Zuma had acted "in good faith" on his understanding of the law. He noted that Mr. Zuma had apologized to the nation for the "frustration and confusion" caused by his delay in paying back the money.