Johannesburg - The DA is now asking for its impeachment motion against President Jacob Zuma to be urgently placed back on the agenda, following the decision on Tuesday to postpone the State of the Nation Address (SONA).

"Parliament must elect a new president, and this must be done via a special sitting of Parliament next week. One thing we cannot postpone is removing Jacob Zuma and electing a new president. This must be done in the next week," DA leader Mmusi Maimane said. 

READ: SONA postponed 'in the interests of the country' - Mbete

"To this end, the DA will be writing to Speaker Baleka Mbete to ensure that our impeachment motion, tabled last year, is urgently placed back on the order paper and the rules governing the impeachment process are finalised this week."

Maimane had written to Mbete, requesting that SONA be postponed indefinitely until the current leadership crisis within the ANC is resolved.

"We cannot waste money, time, nor another iota of our dwindling credibility on the international stage by allowing Jacob Zuma to deliver the State of the Nation Address," he said. 

In an unscheduled press briefing on Tuesday afternoon, Mbete said parliamentary office bearers had come to the conclusion that there was little likelihood of an uneventful joint sitting of Parliament. Mbete said she had approached Zuma to propose a postponement of SONA.

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"When we met the president, we then learnt that he was already writing to Parliament to ask for the postponement of SONA. This postponement has taken into account the scheduled tabling of the national budget in the next two weeks."

Earlier on Tuesday, Maimane told News24 that the DA would support a motion of no confidence by the EFF. 

On Monday, EFF leader Julius Malema promised to disrupt SONA, insisting instead that they debate a motion of no confidence in Zuma.

He said the party had given Mbete an opportunity to allow a motion, but did not need her permission.