MEMORANDUM
TO: Chairperson: Joint Constitutional Review Committee [Dr E A Schoeman, MP]
FROM: Legal Services Office
DATE: 27 October 2006
SUBJECT: Annual review of the Constitution: Further comments on the composition
of provincial legislatures
1. In my memorandum dated 8 August 2006, I advised on the submission from the
Free State Legislature in respect of a request for a review of section 105(2)
of the Constitution, relating to the number of seats in a provincial
legislature. I was requested by the Constitutional Review Committee to advise
on the number of members of other provincial legislatures in relation to the
population size.
2. Government Gazette No. 19491, dated 18 November 1998, indicates the
population figures for the various provinces as determined by Statistics South
Africa. Government Gazette No 19865, dated 19 March 1999, indicates
determination of the number of seats of the National Assembly and provincial
legislatures by the Electoral Commission on 17 March 1999 in terms of the
Electoral Act, 1998, having taken into account available scientifically based
data and having considered all the representations made by interested parties.
I have not been able to find the publication of the determination by the
Electoral Commission in respect of the number of seats of the legislatures
prior to the elections in 2004. However, the number of seats of the
legislatures can be ascertained from the allocation of seats after the election
held on 14 April 2004 (Government Gazette No 26276, dated 20 April 2004).
The only difference is the number of seats of the Western Cape Legislature. The
table below combines the above mentioned data. Legislatures with the minimum of
30 members, Free State, Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape, are highlighted.
|
Legislature |
Population
size (StatsSA) |
Number
of seats in legislature |
|
|
1999 |
2004 |
||
|
National
Assembly |
40
583 573 |
400 |
400 |
|
Eastern
Cape |
6
302 525 |
63 |
63 |
|
Free
State |
2
633 504 |
30 |
30 |
|
Gauteng |
7
348 423 |
73 |
73 |
|
Kwa-Zulu
Natal |
8
417021 |
80 |
80 |
|
Mpumalanga |
2
800711 |
30 |
30 |
|
Northern
Cape |
840
321 |
30 |
30 |
|
Limpopo |
4
929 368 |
49 |
49 |
|
North
West |
3
354 825 |
33 |
33 |
|
Western
Cape |
3956875 |
39 |
42 |