The Democratic Alliance today launched an aggressive campaign to protest the current form of the draft Protection of Information Bill. The political party is calling on all South Africans to join forces and show their support against the legislation, while also planning more protests.

The DA planned to further its campaign by using popular social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, and also promised to continue impromptu protests.

They’ve already staged seven protests at events around the country, and were aware of 40 more that are planned for the coming months.

DA leader, Helen Zille, was speaking to members of the media at parliament earlier today:

When the bill was rammed through last month without this important clause, we said we would not give up the fight.

We will be signing a generic letter to the president that all South Africans can download from the DA’s website, sign, and e-mail to the president’s office. In the end, a sustained increase in public pressure may be what it takes to get the ANC to withdraw the bill in its current form.

We will play our part in mobilising the South African people against the bill. We have not given up the fight.

The renewed effort by the DA comes in the wake of their constant disapproval of the bill not containing a public interest clause that would protect people who shared or published sensitive information in the public interest.

According to a Sapa report, the DA will continue to pressure the National Council of Provinces for amendments to the bill, and if that didn’t work, and the bill made its way to President Zuma for signing, it would invoke section 80 of the constitution:

If the DA’s amendments in the NCOP were rejected, and the bill was sent to the president for assent, the party would petition him to refer it back to the National Assembly.

Should all other avenues be exhausted, the DA would invoke Section 80 of the constitution for the first time in South Africa’s history.

Section 80 allowed MPs to refer a bill directly to the Constitutional Court should such an application be supported by at least one third of the members of the National Assembly, and be made within 30 days of the president assenting to and signing the act.

You can get more information on the petition by following this link.

[Source: TimesLive]