Pretoria - Embattled Congress of the People (COPE) leaders Mosiuoa Lekota and Mbhazima Shilowa are both entitled to attend the opening of Parliament later on this evening, Parliament said on Thursday.
"Both parties, namely Mr Lekota and Mr Shilowa, are entitled to be present in the House during the State of the Nation address," said Parliament in a statement, ahead of President Jacob Zuma's State of the Nation (SONA) address at 7pm.
The statement comes after Parliament received a letter from COPE indicating that the party's Congress National Committee had accepted recommendations expelling Shilowa from the party. However, Parliament received another letter advising that the expulsion had no standing.
"Parliament has previously been in communication with both Mr Lekota and Mr Shilowa to seek clarity on the leadership structure of Cope. There has been no conclusive resolution to this issue," said Parliament.
A person loses membership in the Assembly by operation of law, if that person ceases to be a member of the political party that nominated that person as a member of the Assembly. Expulsion thus terminates such membership.
Therefore, if a political party informs the Speaker of an expulsion, according to the internal guidelines applicable to such notice, the Speaker gives effect to that decision.
"Thus I am unable to give effect to the expulsion until I obtain the necessary clarity," Parliamentary Speaker Max Sisulu said.
