Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996/2003-03-20/Chapter 6

Composition and election of provincial legislatures

Subject to Schedule 6A, a provincial legislature consists of women and men elected as members in terms of an electoral system that —

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

A provincial legislature consists of between 30 and 80 members. The number of members, which may differ among the provinces, must be determined in terms of a formula prescribed by national legislation.

Membership

Every citizen who is qualified to vote for the National Assembly is eligible to be a member of a provincial legislature, 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 Premier and other members of the Executive Council of a province; and other office-bearers whose functions are compatible with the functions of a member of a provincial legislature, and have been declared compatible with those functions by national legislation;

members of the National Assembly, permanent delegates to the National Council of Provinces or members of 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 a provincial legislature in terms of subsection (1)(a) or (b) may be a candidate for the legislature, subject to any limits or conditions established by national legislation.

A person loses membership of a provincial legislature if that person —

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

Vacancies in a provincial legislature must be filled in terms of national legislation.