Northern Cape Provincial Legislature

Northern Cape Provincial Legislature
4th Legislature
Type
Type	Unicameral
History
Founded	April 27, 1994 (1994-04-27)
Leadership
Speaker	Jacobus van Wyk, ANC
Deputy Speaker	Juanita Beukes, ANC
Structure
Seats	30
Political groups	African National Congress (19) Congress of the People (5) Democratic Alliance (4) Independent Democrats (2)
Elections
Voting system	Party-list proportional representation
Last election	22 April 2009
Meeting place
New Provincial Legislature Building, Galeshewe, Kimberley
Website
www.ncpleg.gov.za

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 22 April 2009 and has an African National Congress majority of 19 members. It is situated in Kimberley, in a newly built complex to the west of the city centre on the edge of Galeshewe.

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.

Election

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 22 April 2009. The following table summarises the results.

style="width: 2px; background-color: #006600;" data-sort-value="African National Congress" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #FFCA08;" data-sort-value="Congress of the People (South African political party)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #005BA6;" data-sort-value="Democratic Alliance (South Africa)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #ef8321;" data-sort-value="Independent Democrats" |

Party		Votes	Vote %	Seats
ANC	245,699	60.8	19
COPE	67,416	16.7	5
DA	50,817	12.6	4
ID	19,995	4.9	2
	Other parties	20,491	5.1	0
Total		404,418	100	30

The following table shows the composition of the provincial parliament after past elections and floor-crossing periods.

Event	Date	ANC	NP / NNP	COPE	DP / DA	ID	VF / VF+	ACDP
1994 election	27 April 1994	15	12	—	1	—	2	0
1999 election	2 June 1999	20	8	—	1	—	1	0
2004 election	14 April 2004	21	2	—	3	2	1	1
2005 floor-crossing	15 September 2005	24	—	—	3	1	1	1
2007 floor-crossing	15 September 2007	25	—	—	2	1	1	1
2009 election	22 April 2009	19	—	5	4	2	0	0

Powers

The Northern Cape Provincial Legislature elects the Premier of the Northern Cape, the head of the provincial executive. The legislature can force the Premier to resign by passing a motion of no confidence, or remove her for misconduct or inability. Although the Executive Council (cabinet) is chosen by the Premier, the legislature may pass a motion of no confidence to force the Premier to reconstitute 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 enumerated 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 alone. The fields include such matters as health, education (except universities), agriculture, housing, environmental protection, and development planning.

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

External links

• Official website