KwaZulu-Natal Legislature

The KwaZulu-Natal Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. 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.

KwaZulu-Natal Legislature IsiShayamthetho saKwaZulu-Natali  (Zulu)
6th Legislature
Type
Type	Unicameral
Leadership
Speaker	Ntobeko Boyce, African National Congress since 22 May 2019
Deputy Speaker	Mluleki Ndobe, African National Congress since 22 May 2019[1]
Premier	Sihle Zikalala, African National Congress since 27 May 2019[2]
Leader of the Opposition	Velenkosini Hlabisa, Inkatha Freedom Party since 22 May 2019[3]
Structure
Seats	80
Political groups	Government      ANC (44) Official Opposition      IFP (13) Other parties      DA (11)      EFF (8)      NFP (1)      MF (1)      ATM (1)      ACDP (1)
Elections
Voting system	Party-list proportional representation
Last election	8 May 2019
Meeting place
239 Langalibalele Street, Pietermaritzburg
Website
kznlegislature.gov.za

Powers

The KwaZulu-Natal Legislature chooses the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, the head of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial executive. The legislature can impel the Premier to resign by passing a motion of no confidence. Although the members of the Executive Council (cabinet) are appointed by the Premier, the legislature may pass a motion of no confidence to force the Premier to reshuffle the Council. The legislature also designates the KwaZulu-Natal'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 numerous fields set out 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 matters as health, education (except universities), agriculture, housing, environmental protection, and development planning.

The legislature oversees the administration of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government, and the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal and the members of the Executive Council are required to report to the legislature on the performance of their responsibilities. The legislature also manages the financial affairs of the provincial government by way of the appropriation bills which determine the provincial budget.

Election

The provincial legislature consists of 80 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	1,950,022	54.21	44
	Inkatha Freedom Party	588,000	16.35	13
	Democratic Alliance	500,038	13.90	11
	Economic Freedom Fighters	349,202	9.71	8
	National Freedom Party	56,584	1.57	1
	Minority Front	18,864	0.52	1
	African Transformation Movement	17,716	0.49	1
	African Christian Democratic Party	17,213	0.48	1
	Other parties	99,385	2.77	0
Total		3,597,024	100	80

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

Event	ACDP	ANC	ATM	DP/DA	EFF	IFP	MF	NFP	NP/NNP	PAC	UDM	Others
1994 election	1	26	—	2	—	41	1	—	9	1	—	0
1999 election	1	32	—	7	—	34	2	—	3	0	1	0
2003 floor-crossing	1	35	—	6	—	32	2	—	2	0	1	1
2004 election	2	38	—	7	—	30	2	—	0	0	1	0
2005 floor-crossing	1	40	—	5	—	27	2	—	—	0	1	4
2007 floor-crossing	1	41	—	5	—	27	2	—	—	0	1	3
2009 election	1	51	—	7	—	18	2	—	—	0	0	1
2014 election	0	52	—	10	2	9	1	6	—	0	0	0
2019 election	1	44	1	11	8	13	1	1	—	0	0	0

Officers

The Speaker of the Legislature is Ntobeko Boyce, while the Deputy Speaker is Mluleki Ndobe; they are both members of the African National Congress. The following people have served as Speaker:

Name	Entered Office	Left Office	Party
Bonga Mdletshe[4]	1994	2004	IFP
Willies Mchunu	2004	2009	ANC
Peggy Nkonyeni[5]	2009	2013	ANC
Lydia Johnson[6][7]	2013	2019	ANC
Ntobeko Boyce	2019	Incumbent	ANC

Membership

See also: List of members of the 6th KwaZulu-Natal Legislature and Member of the Provincial Legislature

References

1. Opposition unhappy with election of Ndobe to KZN Legislature. Retrieved on 24 May 2019.
2. ANC's Sihle Zikalala elected KZN premier, Ntobeko Boyce gets speaker nod. Retrieved on 24 May 2019.
3. New KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala vows to fight graft in provincial govt. Retrieved on 24 May 2019.
4. Speaker Mdletshe was re-elected on June 18, 1999
5. Peggy Nkonyeni appointed KZN education MEC. News24. 7 October 2013. Retrieved on 8 January 2019.
6. Election of the new Speaker of the KZN Legislature. Retrieved on 8 January 2019.
7. Lydia Johnson new speaker of KZN legislature - ANC KZN. Retrieved on 8 January 2019.

External links

• KZN Legislature