26th South African Parliament

The 26th South African Parliament was the fifth Parliament of South Africa to convene since the introduction of non-racial government in South Africa in 1994. It was elected in the general election of 7 May 2014 and consists of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces. The National Assembly contains 400 members, while the National Council of Provinces contains 90 members. Members of Parliament were sworn in on 21 May 2014.[1] The 26th parliament first convened on 21 May 2014 to elect Jacob Zuma as the fifth democratically elected President of South Africa.[2] It was formally opened by president Zuma's State of the Nation Address in a joint sitting on 17 June 2014.[3]

26th South African Parliament
Overview
Jurisdiction	South Africa
Meeting place	Cape Town
Term	21 May 2014 (2014-05-21) - 21 May 2019 (2019-05-21)
National Assembly of South Africa
Members	400
Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa	Baleka Mbete
Leader of the Opposition	Mmusi Maimane
Presiding Officers	Mmatlala Boroto, Cedric Frolick, Thoko Didiza
National Council of Provinces
Members	90
Chairperson	Thandi Modise
Deputy Chairperson	Raseriti Tau
Leader of the Opposition	Cathlene Labuschagne

13 Different political parties are represented in this parliament.[4][5] The majority party in the 25th parliament, the African National Congress (ANC) retained its majority, although it was reduced to 249 (62%) seats, down from 264 seats out of 400 (66%), while the Democratic Alliance (DA) increased its lead of the opposition, taking 89 (22.23%) seats, up from 67 seats (16.75%) in the National Assembly of the 25th parliament. The Speaker of the National Assembly, Baleka Mbete and Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Thandi Modise, both of the ANC, were elected on 21 May 2014 by members of parliament.[6][7] The presiding officers of parliament, Mmatlala Boroto, Cedric Frolick and Thoko Didiza were elected on 18 June 2014.[8]

Mmusi Maimane was elected parliamentary Leader of the Opposition in a DA election in May 2014.[9]

Parties represented

Composition of the National Assembly after the 2014 general election

  African National Congress

  Democratic Alliance

  Economic Freedom Fighters

  Inkatha Freedom Party

  Others

National Assembly

Party		Seats
	African National Congress	249
	Democratic Alliance	89
	Economic Freedom Fighters	25
	Inkatha Freedom Party	10
	National Freedom Party	06
	United Democratic Movement	04
	Freedom Front Plus	04
	Congress of the People	03
	African Christian Democratic Party	03
	African Independent Congress	03
	Agang SA	02
	Pan Africanist Congress	01
	African People's Convention	01
Total		400
Source:[4]

National Council of Provinces

Party		Delegate type	Province									Total
			EC	FS	G	KZN	L	M	NW	NC	WC
	African National Congress	Permanent	4	4	3	4	4	4	4	4	2	33	60
		Special	3	3	2	3	4	4	3	3	2	27
	Democratic Alliance	Permanent	1	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	4	13	20
		Special	1	1	2					1	2	7
	Economic Freedom Fighters	Permanent		1	1		1	1	1	1		6	7
		Special							1			1
	Inkatha Freedom Party	Permanent				1						1
	National Freedom Party	Special				1						1
	United Democratic Movement	Permanent	1									1
Total			10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	90

Incidents

On 13 November 2014, MPs were involved in a physical altercation with police when EFF MP Ngwanamakwetle Mashabela refused to leave the podium after being instructed to when she called President Jacob Zuma a thief. Several DA and EFF MPs were shoved and pushed when trying to intervene with police in order to support Mashabela. DA chief whip John Steenhuisen said of the incident: “Four of my [DA] members, two of them women, have been assaulted by police. They are Terri Stander, Gordon Mackay, Denise Robinson and Dean Macpherson.”[10]

On 12 February 2015, at a joint-sitting for this parliament's 2nd State of the Nation Address, violence broke out after the parliamentary security force was called into the chamber by the speaker of parliament to remove the EFF, who were questioning president Jacob Zuma on his Nkandla property during his address. Following the ejection of the EFF, the DA requested clarification on whether members of the South African Police Service entered the parliamentary chamber, which they claimed was a violation of the constitution. After the speaker of parliament told the DA that it was unclear who were and were not members of the police, all the DA MPs walked out of the sitting.[11]

See also

• List of National Assembly members of the 26th Parliament of South Africa
• List of National Council of Provinces members of the 26th Parliament of South Africa

References

1. Ferreira, Emsia (21 May 2014). "Chief justice swears in fifth Parliament's MPs". Mail & Guardian. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
2. "Jacob Zuma elected president". iAfrica. 22 May 2014. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
3. "Parliament readies for State of the Nation address". News24. 17 June 2014. Archived from the original on 4 July 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
4. "Election results". IEC. Archived from the original on 10 May 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
5. "From the Fourth to the Fifth Democratic Parliament". Parliament of the Republic of South Africa. Archived from the original on 6 February 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
6. "Baleka Mbete appointed Speaker of Parliament". SouthAfrica.info. 22 May 2014. Archived from the original on 13 September 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
7. "Thandi Modise elected NCOP chair". 22 May 2014. Archived from the original on 24 May 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
8. "South Africa: NA Elects New House Chairs". 19 June 2014. Archived from the original on 13 September 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
9. "Mmusi Maimane's parliamentary leader acceptance speech". Mail & Guardian. 29 May 2014. Archived from the original on 4 August 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
10. "Fists fly as cops tug at defiant MP". City Press. 14 November 2014. Archived from the original on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
11. "SONA 2015 descends into violence (video)". The Citizen. SAPA. 13 February 2015. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.