Gauteng Provincial Legislature

Last updated
Gauteng Provincial Legislature

List
6th Legislature
Gauteng Provincial Legislature seal.jpg
Type
Type
History
Founded27 April 1994 (1994-04-27)
Leadership
Speaker
Ntombi Lentheng Mekgwe [1] , ANC
since 21 May 2014
Deputy Speaker
Nomvuyo Mhlakaza-Manamela,ANC
since 22 May 2019
Premier
Panyaza Lesufi,ANC
since 6 October 2022 [2]
Leader of the Opposition
Solly Msimanga [3] , DA
since 22 May 2019
Structure
Seats73
South Africa Gauteng Provincial Legislature 2019.svg
Political groups
Government
  •   ANC (37)

Official Opposition

  •   DA (20)

Other parties

Elections
Party-list proportional representation
Last election
8 May 2019
Meeting place
Johannesburg City Hall.jpg
Johannesburg City Hall, City Hall Street, Johannesburg
Website
www.gpl.gov.za

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.

Contents

The Gauteng 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. In February 2024, the number of allocated seats in the legislature was increased to 80 seats, the maximum number of seats allowed.

Powers

The Gauteng Provincial Legislature elects the Premier of Gauteng, the head of Gauteng's provincial executive. The legislature can force the Premier to resign by passing a motion of no confidence. Although the Executive Council is selected by the Premier, the legislature may pass a motion of no confidence to compel the Premier to reshuffle the council. The legislature also appoints Gauteng'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 other fields it is reserved to the province alone. The fields include matters such as health, education (except universities), agriculture, housing, environmental protection, and development planning.

The legislature oversees the administration of the Gauteng provincial government, and the Gauteng Premier and the members of the Executive Council are required to report to the legislature on the performance of their responsibilities. The legislature also manages the financial affairs of the provincial government by way of the appropriation bills which determine the annual provincial budget.

Election

The provincial legislature consists of 73 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.

PartyVotesVote %Seats
African National Congress 2,168,25350.1937
Democratic Alliance 1,185,74327.4520
Economic Freedom Fighters 634,38714.6911
FF Plus 153,8443.563
Inkatha Freedom Party 38,2630.891
African Christian Democratic Party 30,6050.711
Other parties108,8422.510
Total4,319,93710073

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 IFP NP/NNP PAC UDM Others
1994 election 1505532110
1999 election 15013133011
2003 floor-crossing 150120133012
2004 election 151151120110
2005 floor-crossing 15112112104
2007 floor-crossing 15113222002
2009 election 147616111000
2014 election 040023811000
2019 election 1370201131000

Officers

The Speaker is the political head of the legislature, and is assisted by a Deputy Speaker. The Speaker is Ntombi Lentheng Mekgwe and her deputy is Nomvuyo Mhlakaza-Manamela; they are both members of the African National Congress. The following people have served as Speaker:

NameEntered officeLeft officeParty
Trevor Fowler 19941999 ANC
Firoz Cachalia 19992004ANC
Richard Mdakane 20042009ANC
Lindiwe Maseko 20092014ANC
Ntombi Lentheng Mekgwe 2014IncumbentANC

Members

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References

  1. Madisa, Kgothatso (22 May 2019). "ANC's Ntombi Mekgwe put forward as Gauteng legislature speaker as members are sworn-in". SowetanLIVE. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  2. "Lesufi elected new Gauteng premier | eNCA". www.enca.com. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
  3. Tandwa, Lizeka (17 May 2019). "Msimanga elected DA Gauteng caucus leader". News24. Retrieved 3 April 2020.