Free State Provincial Legislature

The Free State Provincial Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African province of Free State. It is unicameral in its composition, and elects the premier and the executive council from among the members of the leading party or coalition in the parliament.

Free State Provincial Legislature

Vrystaatse Provinsiale Wetgewer  (Afrikaans)
Kopano ea Molao ea Lekhotla la Free State  (Sotho)
6th Legislature
Type
Type
Leadership
Speaker
Zanele Sifuba, ANC
since 22 May 2019[1]
Deputy Speaker
Lucy Mapena, ANC
since 22 May 2019[2]
Premier
Sisi Ntombela, ANC
since 27 March 2018[3]
Leader of the Opposition
Roy Jankielsohn, DA
since 21 May 2014[4]
Structure
Seats30
Political groups
Government
  •   ANC (19)

Official Opposition

Other parties

Elections
Party-list proportional representation
Last election
8 May 2019
Meeting place
Legislative Chamber, Vierde Raadsaal, Bloemfontein
Website
http://www.fsl.gov.za/

Powers

The Free State Provincial Legislature chooses the Premier of Free State, the head of the Free State's provincial executive. The legislature can force the Premier to resign by passing a motion of no confidence. Although the Executive Council is chosen by the Premier, the legislature may pass a motion of no confidence to force the Premier to change the composition of the Council. The legislature also appoints Free State'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 specified in the national constitution; in some fields, the legislative power is shared with the national parliament, while in other fields it is solely reserved to the Free State alone. The fields include health, education (except universities), agriculture, housing, environmental protection, and development planning.

The legislature oversees the administration of the Free State 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 manages the finances of the provincial government by way of the appropriation bills which determine the Free State's provincial budget.

Election

The provincial legislature consists of 30 members, who are elected through a system of party list proportional representation with closed lists. The most recent election was held on 8 May 2019. The following table summarises the results.

PartyVotesVote %Seats
ANC || 541,535 || 61.14 || 19
Democratic Alliance || 155,694 || 17.58|| 6
Economic Freedom Fighters111,42712.584
Freedom Front Plus || 35,031 || 3.96 || 1
Other parties41,9904.740
Total885,677100.030

The following table shows the composition of the provincial parliament after past elections.

Event ACDP ANC COPE DP/DA EFF FF/FF+ NP/NNP
1994 election 024———24
1999 election 025—2—12
2004 election 125—3—10
2009 election 02243—1—
2014 election 0220521—
2019 election 0190641—

Officers

The following people have served as Speaker of the Free State Provincial Legislature:

Name Entered Office Left Office Party
Motlalepule Chambaku[5] 1994 1998 ANC
Joel Mafereka[6] 1998 2001 ANC
Jani Mohapi 2001 2002 ANC
Mxolisi Dukwana[7] 2002 2008 ANC
Sisi Mabe 2014 2014 ANC
Motlagomang Qabathe 2015 2019 ANC
Zanele Sifuba 2019 Incumbent ANC

Members
See also: List of members of the 6th Free State Provincial Legislature and Member of the Provincial Legislature

References
  1. New FS Legislature speaker unafraid to make changes to systems where necessary. Retrieved on 23 May 2019.
  2. Call for gender representation when Premier announces her cabinet. Retrieved on 23 May 2019.
  3. Sisi Ntombela re-elected as Free State premier
  4. Roy Jankielsohn. Retrieved on 23 May 2019.
  5. Executive Summary: Provincial 10 Year Review Implementation Report
  6. News - South Africa: ANC Renegades To be Disciplined After Poll
  7. Who's Who of South Africa
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