CAPE TOWN, Aug 8 (Reuters) - South Africa's President Jacob Zuma survived a no-confidence motion against him in parliament on Tuesday by garnering 198 votes to the opposition's 177 votes as African National Congress lawmakers rallied to his support.

There were nine abstentions in the secret ballot.

Zuma, 75, who has held power since 2009 but whose time in office has been dogged by allegations of corruption, has now survived nine no-confidence votes thanks to loyal voting by ANC lawmakers.

The rand fell by 1 percent after the announcement of the vote outcome. (Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Writing by James Macharia; Editing by Richard Balmforth)</s>CAPE TOWN/JOHANNESBURG: Lawmakers in South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) pledged to back President Jacob Zuma in a no-confidence motion in parliament on Tuesday, aiming to thwart opposition efforts to force him out.

Zuma, who has held power since 2009, has struggled to fend off accusations of corruption and mismanaging the economy and if the vote goes against him, he would have to relinquish office.

The parliamentary speaker on Monday ruled the vote would be by secret ballot - a decision the opposition hoped would embolden ANC members who are unhappy with Zuma to vote against him.

The rand , bonds and banking shares surged on that news, buoyed by the prospect of Zuma's removal.

The rand was slightly firmer as the no-confidence vote in parliament started. It was unclear how long the exercise in the 400-seat parliament would take.

"I plead with you let us put the people of South Africa first and vote to remove Jacob Zuma today," Mmusi Maimane, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party told parliament.

Speaking on behalf of the ANC, deputy chief whip Doris Dlakude said the motion against Zuma amounted to a "power grab" by the opposition.

"The ANC rejects this motion with the contempt it deserves," she said.

Zuma has upset investors, in particular by removing finance minister Pravin Gordhan in March. The country's credit rating was downgraded to junk by two of the top three rating agencies, unemployment is at a 14-year high of 27.7 percent and the economy is back in recession.

The ANC has 249 seats in the 400-seat parliament and the opposition controls 151, so it would take 50 ANC lawmakers backing the opposition to vote Zuma and his cabinet out.

The party, which has ruled South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994, is deeply divided and several ANC lawmakers have voiced criticism of the 75-year-old Zuma.

But ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu said that at a meeting before the parliamentary session, the party had resolved to support him. Several ANC lawmakers left the meeting singing.

"You hear the singing," Mthembu told eNCA television channel. "Zuma was toyi-toying (dancing), that is what we do when we are under attack."

Zuma was described as being calm and jovial at the meeting, but did not address the lawmakers.

On the streets, protesters blocked roads with burning tyres and rocks in the commercial hub Johannesburg and capital Pretoria, temporarily blocking traffic.

Zuma has survived eight no-confidence votes during his eight years in power thanks to loyal voting by ANC lawmakers, but those votes were not secret.

In Cape Town, where parliament is located, thousands of opposition supporters held a rally, carrying posters saying "Fire Zuma" and a cartoon of Zuma in a dustbin.

"Go, Zuma go!" Maimane, called out to the crowd.

"We will vote this afternoon to make sure he leaves."

Julius Malema, leader of the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), said: "We are here to reclaim our country."

ANC members also rallied in Cape Town to support Zuma, some carrying placards saying: "Zuma must stay".

ANC's Secretary General Gwede Mantashe said the no-confidence motion was attack against the party.

"It's about removing the ANC from power in a non-democratic way, therefore MPs have a responsibility to defend the ANC," Mantashe said.

Newspaper headlines reflected the high stakes at play - "JZ's moment of truth" read The Star, while The Sowetan declared: "High Noon for Zuma".

ANC lawmaker Derek Hanekom, who was removed as tourism minister in the cabinet reshuffle that cost Gordhan his job, said on Twitter that lawmakers must vote against "massive looting and corruption. Vote for change".

Nomura analyst Peter Attard Montalto said the decision to have a secret ballot was "a significant surprise" but he expected Zuma to survive.

"We still expect the vote to fail, but attach a 30 percent chance of success," he said.

If the motion is successful, Zuma - whose term is due to run until 2019 - would be removed as president but would remain as ANC leader until December, when he is due to step down and a new leader elected in his place.

Should he be forced to quit, the speaker would take over and the National Assembly would be expected to elect a new president within 30 days.

As the largest party in parliament, the ANC would be expected to select the new president and government.

The ANC - once all-powerful as heir of South Africa's anti-apartheid struggle - has lost popularity under Zuma, underscored by its worst electoral showing in over two decades of power in local elections last year. Thousands of people took part in protest marches in April calling for Zuma to step down.</s>SOUTH AFRICA’S third post-apartheid President, Jacob Zuma has survived a Democratic Alliance-led bid to remove him from office through a vote of no confidence.

198 legislators voted against the motion to vote out Zuma whilst 177 voted for. A total of 384 votes were cast through secret ballot. News24 reports that about 30 ANC MPs voted for Zuma to be removed. A simple majority of 201 votes was required to remove Zuma as president. – Nesw24</s>President Jacob Zuma will not be going anywhere.

So says KwaDukuza Mayor Ricardo Mthembu‚ who with hundreds of supporters‚ took to the streets in support of the first citizen on Tuesday.

They marched on the KwaDukuza Magistrate's Court to hand over a memorandum as the eighth motion of no confidence in Zuma came before parliament to be debated.

Mthembu told ANC supporters that Zuma will remain after the vote of no confidence against him.

“Today we are saying that Zuma will sleep as president and wake up as president. You must not be confused by the Speaker’s decision. We support it fully but we want to see those who talk about conscience‚” he said.</s>CAPE TOWN/JOHANNESBURG: Lawmakers in South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) pledged to back President Jacob Zuma in a no-confidence motion in parliament on Tuesday, aiming to thwart opposition efforts to force him out.

Zuma, who has held power since 2009, has struggled to fend off accusations of corruption and mismanaging the economy and if the vote goes against him, he would have to relinquish office.

The parliamentary speaker on Monday ruled the vote would be by secret ballot - a decision the opposition hoped would embolden ANC members who are unhappy with Zuma to vote against him.

The rand , bonds and banking shares surged on that news, buoyed by the prospect of Zuma's removal.

The rand was slightly firmer as the no-confidence vote in parliament started. It was unclear how long the exercise in the 400-seat parliament would take.

"I plead with you let us put the people of South Africa first and vote to remove Jacob Zuma today," Mmusi Maimane, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party told parliament.

Speaking on behalf of the ANC, deputy chief whip Doris Dlakude said the motion against Zuma amounted to a "power grab" by the opposition.

"The ANC rejects this motion with the contempt it deserves," she said.

Zuma has upset investors, in particular by removing finance minister Pravin Gordhan in March. The country's credit rating was downgraded to junk by two of the top three rating agencies, unemployment is at a 14-year high of 27.7 percent and the economy is back in recession.

The ANC has 249 seats in the 400-seat parliament and the opposition controls 151, so it would take 50 ANC lawmakers backing the opposition to vote Zuma and his cabinet out.

The party, which has ruled South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994, is deeply divided and several ANC lawmakers have voiced criticism of the 75-year-old Zuma.

But ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu said that at a meeting before the parliamentary session, the party had resolved to support him. Several ANC lawmakers left the meeting singing.

"You hear the singing," Mthembu told eNCA television channel. "Zuma was toyi-toying (dancing), that is what we do when we are under attack."

Zuma was described as being calm and jovial at the meeting, but did not address the lawmakers.

On the streets, protesters blocked roads with burning tyres and rocks in the commercial hub Johannesburg and capital Pretoria, temporarily blocking traffic.

Zuma has survived eight no-confidence votes during his eight years in power thanks to loyal voting by ANC lawmakers, but those votes were not secret.

In Cape Town, where parliament is located, thousands of opposition supporters held a rally, carrying posters saying "Fire Zuma" and a cartoon of Zuma in a dustbin.

"Go, Zuma go!" Maimane, called out to the crowd.

"We will vote this afternoon to make sure he leaves."

Julius Malema, leader of the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), said: "We are here to reclaim our country."

ANC members also rallied in Cape Town to support Zuma, some carrying placards saying: "Zuma must stay".

ANC's Secretary General Gwede Mantashe said the no-confidence motion was attack against the party.

"It's about removing the ANC from power in a non-democratic way, therefore MPs have a responsibility to defend the ANC," Mantashe said.

Newspaper headlines reflected the high stakes at play - "JZ's moment of truth" read The Star, while The Sowetan declared: "High Noon for Zuma".

ANC lawmaker Derek Hanekom, who was removed as tourism minister in the cabinet reshuffle that cost Gordhan his job, said on Twitter that lawmakers must vote against "massive looting and corruption. Vote for change".

Nomura analyst Peter Attard Montalto said the decision to have a secret ballot was "a significant surprise" but he expected Zuma to survive.

"We still expect the vote to fail, but attach a 30 percent chance of success," he said.

If the motion is successful, Zuma - whose term is due to run until 2019 - would be removed as president but would remain as ANC leader until December, when he is due to step down and a new leader elected in his place.

Should he be forced to quit, the speaker would take over and the National Assembly would be expected to elect a new president within 30 days.

As the largest party in parliament, the ANC would be expected to select the new president and government.

The ANC - once all-powerful as heir of South Africa's anti-apartheid struggle - has lost popularity under Zuma, underscored by its worst electoral showing in over two decades of power in local elections last year. Thousands of people took part in protest marches in April calling for Zuma to step down.</s>President Jacob Zuma has told jubilant crowds that is is "impossible" for the opposition to remove the ANC after successfully fighting off his latest no-confidence vote.

Mr Zuma appeared in Cape Town after the motion was defeated 198 to 177 in parliament on Tuesday.

In a speech to his supporters, he accused opposition parties of using " technicalities" to try to grab power.</s>Chris Turner, Global Head of Strategy at ING Bank explained that the result of today’s No Confidence ballot in the South African parliament was 177 votes in favour of the motion, some 24 votes short of the number required to end Jacob Zuma’s eight-year term as South Africa’s President.

"Understandably the Rand has given back yesterday’s gains – seen when the Speaker announced the ballot would be secret – and perhaps encouraging thoughts of defections from some of the ANC’s 249 members of the 400 seat parliament.

The failure of the No Confidence motion (assuming no more such motions are forthcoming) would leave Zuma in office as President until May 2019. The political focus will then shift to the 54th ANC Congress taking place 16-20 December – where a new leader of the ANC, and Zuma’s likely successor as President, will be chosen.

 Here, the two front-runners are: (i) Cyril Ramaphosa, the current Deputy President and Zuma critic, seen as a market-friendly outcome and (ii) Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Jacob’s former wife and favoured by the current President as a continuity candidate.

While we think USD/ZAR should be trading near 12.00 based on long-term fair value and the currently benign external conditions, we suspect Zuma’s survival today will maintain a political risk premium in the ZAR. This was most manifest when Zuma fired his respected Finance Minister, Pravin Gordhan, in March, prompting ratings agency downgrades on governance concerns.

Here we remain concerned that South Africa’s local currency debt remains one notch above junk at the key ratings agencies of Moody’s and S&P. A shift to junk status for the local currency ratings from both agencies would take South African government bonds out of key international benchmarks such as the WGBI and Barclays Global Aggregate, prompting ZAR outflows as much as 2.5% of GDP (around US$8bn), according to the IMF.

We therefore suspect that as long as the market and ratings agencies have governance concerns, and the prospect of the ANC leadership (and Presidency) being handed to his ex-wife remains a possible outcome, USD/ZAR is more likely to trade in a 13.00/13.50 range rather than heading down to fair value closer to 12.00."</s>A total of 384 parliamentarians voted; with less than half, 177, supporting the vote of no confidence.

More than half of the voters, 198, opposed the motion while nine lawmakers abstained.

The voting shows that the anti-Zuma coalition got some ANC votes but not enough to get a majority to remove the president.

With today’s development, Mr. Zuma has now survived eight no-confidence votes in his eight years in office.

Read our live updates of the parliamentary debate and voting here.</s>CAPE TOWN, Aug 8 (Reuters) - The leader of the opposition Democratic Alliance urged South African lawmakers to oust President Jacob Zuma at the start of a parliamentary debate on a motion of no-confidence in the scandal-plagued leader on Tuesday.

Zuma, who has held power since 2009, would have to relinquish office if he loses the vote expected once the debate ends.

"I plead with you let us put the people of South Africa first and vote to remove Jacob Zuma today," Mmusi Maimane said.

Speaking on behalf of the ruling African National Congress party, deputy chief whip Doris Dlakude said the motion against Zuma amounted to a "power grab" by the opposition.

"The ANC rejects this motion with the contempt it deserves," she said. (Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Writing by James Macharia)</s>The South African president narrowly survives a motion of no confidence against him in parliament, the most serious attempt yet to unseat him after months of growing anger over allegations of corruption and a sinking economy
President Jacob Zuma survives his eighth no-confidence motion in parliament via a 198–177 secret ballot vote with nine abstentions. The rand fell by 1 percent on the announcement of the outcome.