Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature

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Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature

Oos-Kaapse Provinsiale Wetgewer  (Afrikaans)
Indlu yoWiso-mthetho yePhondo leMpuma-Kapa  (Xhosa)
6th Legislature
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Unicameral
Leadership
Speaker
Helen Sauls-August, ANC
since 22 May 2019[1]
Deputy Speaker
Mlibo Qoboshiyane, ANC
since 17 May 2018[2]
Premier
Oscar Mabuyane, ANC
since 22 May 2019[3]
Leader of the Opposition
Nqaba Bhanga, DA
since 9 December 2021[4]
Structure
Seats63
Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature 2019.svg
Political groups
Government
  •   ANC (44)

Official Opposition

  •   DA (10)

Other parties

Elections
Party-list proportional representation
Last election
8 May 2019
Meeting place
Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature situated in Bhisho, Eastern Cape.jpg
Provincial Legislature Building, Independence Avenue, Bhisho
Website
Official website

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.

Powers[]

The Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature elects the Premier of the Eastern Cape and can force the Premier to resign by passing a motion of no confidence. Even though the Executive Council of the province is appointed by the Premier, the legislature can pass a motion of no confidence forcing the Premier to reconfigure the Council. The provincial legislature also designates that Eastern Cape's delegates to the National Council of Provinces, assigning delegates to parties in proportion to the total number of seats each party holds in the legislature.

The legislature has the power to pass legislation in numerous fields set forth in the national constitution; in some fields, the legislative power is shared with the national parliament, while in others it is reserved to the province. The fields include matters such as health, education, agriculture, housing, environmental protection, and development planning.

The legislature supervises the administration of the Eastern Cape provincial government, and the Premier of the Eastern Cape and the members of the Executive Council are required to report to the legislature on the performance of their individual responsibilities. The legislature also manages the pecuniary matters of the provincial government by way of the appropriation bills which determine the provincial budget.[5]

Election[]

The provincial legislature consists of 63 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 1,357,137 68.74 44
Democratic Alliance 310,538 15.73 10
Economic Freedom Fighters 154,821 7.84 5
United Democratic Movement 51,233 2.60 2
African Transformation Movement 30,082 1.52 1
Freedom Front Plus 11,548 0.58 1
Other parties 58,822 2.99 0
Total 1,974,181 100.0 63

The following table shows the composition of the provincial parliament after past elections.

Event AIC ANC ATM COPE DP/DA EFF FF/FF+ NP/NNP PAC UDM
1994 election — 48 — — 1 — 0 6 1 —
1999 election — 47 — — 4 — 0 2 1 9
2004 election — 51 — — 5 — 0 0 1 6
2009 election 1 44 — 9 6 — 0 — 0 3
2014 election 1 45 — 1 10 2 0 — 0 4
2019 election 0 44 1 0 10 5 1 — 0 2

Officers[]

The Speaker is the political head of the legislature and is assisted by a Deputy Speaker. The current Speaker is Helen Sauls-August, and the Deputy Speaker is Mlibo Qoboshiyane; they are both members of the African National Congress.[6] The following people have served as Speaker:

Name Entered Office Left Office Party
Gugile Nkwinti 1994 1999 ANC
Mkhangeli Matomela 1999 2004 ANC
Noxolo Kiviet 2004 2009 ANC
Fikile Xasa 2009 2014 ANC
Noxolo Kiviet 2014 2019 ANC
Helen Sauls-August 2019 Incumbent ANC

Members[]

See also: List of members of the 6th Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature and Member of the Provincial Legislature

References[]

  1. ^ Oscar Mabuyane sworn in as new Eastern Cape premier. Retrieved on 23 May 2019.
  2. ^ Qoboshiyane elected deputy speaker unopposed. Retrieved on 3 January 2019.
  3. ^ Eastern Cape to hold its first sitting for sixth administration. Retrieved on 23 May 2019.
  4. ^ "Nqaba Bhanga sworn in as official leader of the opposition in EC Legislature". DA Bhisho - The Democratic Alliance at the Bhisho Legislature. 2021-12-09. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  5. ^ Separation of Powers
  6. ^ Presiding Officers: Sixth Term. Retrieved on 26 June 2019.

External links[]

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