Question No. 5
Ms B V Mncube (African National Congress, Gauteng) to ask the Deputy President:
Whether the Government has any plans in place to increase the number of seats in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (details furnished) in order to address the challenges of representivity through (a) policy intervention and (b) possible amendments to the current legislative arrangements regarding this matter; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply
Honourable Member, in terms of the Electoral Act (73 0f 1998) it is the Independent Electoral Commission and not the Government that is empowered to determine the number of seats in the National Assembly and Provincial Legislatures.
Our Constitution states that a provincial legislature must consist of between 30 and 80 members and the number of seats, which may differ from province to province, must be determined in terms of a formula prescribed by national legislation.
This formula is set out in the Electoral Act which states that the number of seats in a provincial legislature must be determined by awarding one seat for every 100 000 of the population who ordinarily reside within that province.
The Electoral Act states that the determination of seats must be completed by the Electoral Commission by 31 March 1999 and does not make any express provision for any determination after that.
Discussions need to take place in fora such as the National Council of Provinces as to whether there should be more regular reviews of this number.
I thank you
