Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996/2003-03-20/Chapter 4

Composition and election

Subject to Schedule 6A, the National Assembly consists of no fewer than 350 and no more than 400 women and men elected as members in terms of an electoral system that —

is prescribed by national legislation; is based on the national common voters roll; provides for a minimum voting age of 18 years; and results, in general, in proportional representation.

An Act of Parliament must provide a formula for determining the number of members of the National Assembly.

Membership

Every citizen who is qualified to vote for the National Assembly is eligible to be a member of the Assembly, except —

anyone who is appointed by, or is in the service of, the state and receives remuneration for that appointment or service, other than —

the President, Deputy President, Ministers and Deputy Ministers; and other office-bearers whose functions are compatible with the functions of a member of the Assembly, and have been declared compatible with those functions by national legislation;

permanent delegates to the National Council of Provinces or members of a provincial legislature or a Municipal Council; unrehabilitated insolvents; anyone declared to be of unsound mind by a court of the Republic; or anyone who, after this section took effect, is convicted of an offence and sentenced to more than 12 months’ imprisonment without the option of a fine, either in the Republic, or outside the Republic if the conduct constituting the offence would have been an offence in the Republic, but no one may be regarded as having been sentenced until an appeal against the conviction or sentence has been determined, or until the time for an appeal has expired. A disqualification under this paragraph ends five years after the sentence has been completed.

A person who is not eligible to be a member of the National Assembly in terms of subsection (1)(a) or (b) may be a candidate for the Assembly, subject to any limits or conditions established by national legislation.

A person loses membership of the National Assembly if that person —

ceases to be eligible; is absent from the Assembly without permission in circumstances for which the rules and orders of the Assembly prescribe loss of membership; or ceases to be a member of the party that nominated that person as a member of the Assembly, unless that member has become a member of another party in accordance with Schedule 6A.

Vacancies in the National Assembly must be filled in terms of national legislation.