Northern Cape Provincial Legislature | |
---|---|
6th Legislature | |
Type | |
Type | |
History | |
Founded | 27 April 1994 |
Leadership | |
Speaker | |
Deputy Speaker | |
Premier | |
Leader of the Opposition | |
Structure | |
Seats | 30 |
Political groups | Government
Official Opposition
Other parties |
Elections | |
Party-list proportional representation | |
Last election | 8 May 2019 |
Meeting place | |
New Provincial Legislature Building, Galeshewe, Kimberley | |
Website | |
www |
The Northern Cape Provincial Legislature is the legislature of the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It is a unicameral body of 30 members elected every five years. The current legislature was elected on 8 May 2019 and has an African National Congress majority of 18 members. It is situated in Kimberley, in a newly built complex to the west of the city centre on the edge of Galeshewe. [4]
The Northern Cape Provincial Legislature, like the eight other provincial legislatures in South Africa, was created on 27 April 1994 by the Interim Constitution of South Africa, which dissolved the four original provinces (and their provincial councils) and created the nine current provinces. It is currently constituted in terms of Chapter Six of the Constitution of South Africa, which defines the structure of the provincial governments. [5]
The Northern Cape Provincial Legislature chooses the Premier of the Northern Cape, the head of the Northern Cape's provincial executive. The legislature can force the Premier to resign by passing a motion of no confidence. Although the Executive Council is appointed by the Premier, the legislature may pass a motion of no confidence to force the Premier to restructure the Council. The legislature also appoints the Northern Cape's delegates to the National Council of Provinces, allocating delegates to parties in proportion to the number of seats each party holds in the legislature.
The legislature has the power to pass legislation in various fields specified in the national constitution; in some fields, the legislative power is shared with the national parliament, while in others it is solely reserved to the Northern Cape alone. The fields include health, education (except universities), agriculture, housing, environmental protection, and development planning.
The legislature oversees the administration of the Northern Cape provincial government, and the Premier and the members of the Executive Council are obliged to report to the legislature on the performance of their responsibilities. The legislature also administers the finances of the provincial government by way of the appropriation bills which determine the province's annual budget.
The provincial legislature consists of 30 members, who are elected through a system of party list proportional representation with closed lists. In other words, each voter casts a vote for one political party, and seats in the legislature are allocated to the parties in proportion to the number of votes received. The seats are then filled by members in accordance with lists submitted by the parties before the election.
The legislature is elected for a term of five years unless it is dissolved early. This may occur if the legislature votes to dissolve and it is at least three years since the last election, or if the Premiership falls vacant and the legislature fails to elect a new Premier within ninety days. By convention, all nine provincial legislatures and the National Assembly are elected on the same day.
The most recent election was held on 8 May 2019. The following table summarises the results.
Party | Votes | Vote % | Seats | |
---|---|---|---|---|
African National Congress | 228,265 | 57.54 | 18 | |
Democratic Alliance | 101,198 | 25.51 | 8 | |
Economic Freedom Fighters | 38,527 | 9.71 | 3 | |
Freedom Front Plus | 10,641 | 2.68 | 1 | |
Other parties | 18,048 | 4.56 | 0 | |
Total | 396,679 | 100 | 30 |
The following table shows the composition of the provincial parliament after past elections and floor-crossing periods.
Event | ACDP | ANC | COPE | DP/DA | EFF | FF/FF+ | ID | NP/NNP |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1994 election | 0 | 15 | — | 1 | — | 2 | — | 12 |
1999 election | 0 | 20 | — | 1 | — | 1 | — | 8 |
2004 election | 1 | 21 | — | 3 | — | 1 | 2 | 2 |
2005 floor-crossing | 1 | 24 | — | 3 | — | 1 | 1 | — |
2007 floor-crossing | 1 | 25 | — | 2 | — | 1 | 1 | — |
2009 election | 0 | 19 | 5 | 4 | — | 0 | 2 | — |
2014 election | 0 | 20 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 0 | — | — |
2019 election | 0 | 18 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 1 | — | — |
The Speaker is the political head of the legislature. The following people have served as Speaker:
Name | Entered Office | Left Office | Party |
---|---|---|---|
Ethne Papenfus [6] | 1994 | 2004 | DP |
Constance Seoposengwe | 2004 | 2009 | ANC |
Goolam Akharwaray | 2009 [7] | 2009 | ANC |
Jacobus Frederick van Wyk | 2009 | 2013 | ANC |
Kenny Mmoiemang | 2013 | 2019 | ANC |
Newrene Klaaste | 2019 | Incumbent | ANC |
South Africa is divided into nine provinces. On the eve of the 1994 general election, South Africa's former homelands, also known as Bantustans, were reintegrated, and the four existing provinces were divided into nine. The twelfth, thirteenth and sixteenth amendments to the Constitution of South Africa changed the borders of seven of the provinces.
The Parliament of the Republic of South Africa is South Africa's legislature; under the present Constitution of South Africa, the bicameral Parliament comprises a National Assembly and a National Council of Provinces. The current twenty-seventh Parliament was first convened on 22 May 2019.
General elections were held in South Africa between 26 and 29 April 1994. The elections were the first in which citizens of all races were allowed to take part, and were therefore also the first held with universal suffrage. The election was conducted under the direction of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), and marked the culmination of the four-year process that ended apartheid.
The Republic of South Africa is a parliamentary republic with three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a parliamentary system. Legislative authority is held by the Parliament of South Africa.
The Premier of the Northern Cape is the head of government of the Northern Cape province of South Africa. The current Premier of the Northern Cape is Zamani Saul, a member of the African National Congress, who was elected in the 2019 election. He took office on 22 May 2019.
The Premier of the Eastern Cape is the head of government of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The current Premier of the Eastern Cape is Oscar Mabuyane, a member of the African National Congress, who was elected in the 2019 election. He took office on 22 May 2019.
The Western Cape Provincial Parliament (WCPP) is the legislature of the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is located at 7 Wale Street in Cape Town.
The Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African province of Eastern Cape. It is unicameral in its composition, and elects the premier and the provincial cabinet from among the members of the leading party or coalition in the parliament.
The Limpopo Provincial Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African province of Limpopo.
The KwaZulu-Natal Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. It is unicameral in its composition and elects the premier and the provincial cabinet from among the leading party or coalition members in the parliament.
The African Independent Congress (AIC) is a minor political party in South Africa.
In South Africa, a provincial legislature is the legislative branch of the government of a province. The provincial legislatures are unicameral and vary in size from 30 to 80 members, depending on the population of the province. Each legislature is chaired by a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker.
The Gauteng Provincial Legislature is the legislature of the South African province of Gauteng. It is a unicameral body of 73 members elected every five years. The current legislature, the sixth, was elected on 8 May 2019 and has an African National Congress majority of 37 members. The legislature is housed in Johannesburg City Hall in central Johannesburg.
The nine provinces of South Africa are governed by provincial governments which form the second layer of government, between the national government and the municipalities. The provincial governments are established, and their structure defined, by Chapter Six of the Constitution of South Africa.
The provincial councils were the legislatures of the four original provinces of South Africa. They were created at the foundation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, and abolished in 1986 when they were replaced by a strengthened executive appointed by the State President. The four provincial councils were the Cape Provincial Council, the Natal Provincial Council, the Transvaal Provincial Council and the Orange Free State Provincial Council.
The North West Provincial Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African province of North West. It is unicameral in its composition, and elects the premier and the provincial cabinet from among the members of the leading party or coalition in the parliament.
The Free State Provincial Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African province of Free State. It is unicameral in its composition, and elects the premier and the executive council from among the members of the leading party or coalition in the parliament.
The Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature (MPL), previously known as the Eastern Transvaal Legislature, is the primary legislative body of the South African province of Mpumalanga.
General elections were held in South Africa on 8 May 2019 to elect a new President, National Assembly and provincial legislatures in each province. These were the sixth elections held since the end of apartheid in 1994 and determined who would become the next President of South Africa.