Gauteng Provincial Legislature
| Gauteng Provincial Legislature | |
|---|---|
| 5th Legislature | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 27 April 1994 |
| Leadership | |
Speaker | |
Deputy Speaker |
Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, ANC Since 20 March 2018 |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 73 |
 | |
Political groups | |
| Elections | |
| Party-list proportional representation | |
Last election | 7 May 2014 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Johannesburg City Hall, City Hall Street, Johannesburg | |
| Website | |
|
www | |
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 fifth, was elected on 7 May 2014 and has an African National Congress majority of 40 members. The legislature is housed in Johannesburg City Hall in central Johannesburg.
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.
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 7 May 2014. The following table summarises the results.
| Party | Votes | Vote % | Seats | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| African National Congress | 2,348,564 | 53.59 | 40 | |
| Democratic Alliance | 1,349,001 | 30.78 | 23 | |
| Economic Freedom Fighters | 451,318 | 10.30 | 8 | |
| Freedom Front Plus | 52,436 | 1.20 | 1 | |
| Inkatha Freedom Party | 34,240 | 0.78 | 1 | |
| Other parties | 146,604 | 3.35 | 0 | |
| Total | 4,382,163 | 100 | 73 | |
The following table shows the composition of the provincial parliament after past elections and floor-crossing periods.
| Event | Date | ANC | DP / DA | NP / NNP | COPE | EFF | IFP | VF / VF+ | ID | ACDP | UDM | Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 election | 27 April 1994 | 50 | 5 | 21 | — | — | 3 | 5 | — | 1 | — | 1 |
| 1999 election | 2 June 1999 | 50 | 13 | 3 | — | — | 3 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2003 floor-crossing | 4 April 2003 | 50 | 12 | 3 | — | — | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2004 election | 14 April 2004 | 51 | 15 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2005 floor-crossing | 15 September 2005 | 51 | 12 | — | — | — | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 2007 floor-crossing | 15 September 2007 | 51 | 13 | — | — | — | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 2009 election | 22 April 2009 | 47 | 16 | — | 6 | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 election | 7 May 2014 | 40 | 23 | — | 0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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 Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko; they are both members of the African National Congress. The following people have served as Speaker:
| Name | Entered office | Left office | Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trevor Fowler | 1994 | 1999 | ANC |
| Firos Cachalia | 1999 | 2004 | ANC |
| Richard Mdakane | 2004 | 2009 | ANC |
| Lindiwe Maseko | 2009 | 2014 | ANC |
| Ntombi Lentheng Mekgwe | 2014 | Present | ANC |
2014 removal of EFF members
On 1 July 2014, eight members of the Economic Freedom Fighters were forcibly removed from the legislature after their attire of red overalls carrying the slogan "asijiki" (meaning "we are not turning back") was found to be inappropriate by presiding officer, Ntombi Mekgwe. [1] Hundreds of EFF members protested against the ruling on 22 July near the legislature building. [2]
References
- ↑ "EFF kicked out of Gauteng Legislature". enca.co.za. 2014-07-01. Retrieved 2014-07-24.
- ↑ "EFF storm Gauteng Provincial Legislature". ewn.co.za. 2014-07-24. Retrieved 2014-07-24.