Members of Parliament have voted in favour of the Protection of State Information Bill. The bill still needs to be passed by the National Council of Provinces next year, but it has effectively been adopted by the National Assembly today based on majority vote. It has NOT yet been enacted. Editors staged a walkout as the announcement was made in Parliament.

At final count, there were 229 votes for the bill, and 107 against within the 400 member NA.

All political parties were given permission to make a declaration on the bill before a decision was taken on the legislation within the National Assembly this afternoon. The ANC was resoundingly in favour of the bill, while all opposition parties voted against it, with several parties, including the DA, COPE and the IFP, strongly criticising it for being unsafe for democracy in its current form.

Opposition, including DA Parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko, gave assurances this afternoon that they would continue to fight for the redrafting of the bill and that, should the NCOP pass the bill in its current form next year, the bill would be challenged in the Constitutional Court.

For the bill to head immediately to the Constitutional Court, one third of MPs – i.e. every single opposition MP, give or take two individuals – would need to agree.

The bill as it currently stands has been criticised for not having a public interest defence built into it, and for the “blanket secrecy” it could potentially bestow on the state’s intelligence structures.

[Source: TimesLive]