South Africa makes use of a Proportional Representation electoral system. This means that our elected representatives (Members of Parliament) are not elected from geographic areas in the way Ward Councillors are elected in Local Government elections.
MPs have a Constitutional duty to interact with the public and assist the public ...
Following the transition to a virtual/hybrid Parliament in April, the 2020 parliamentary year came to an end on 9 December.
It was an unprecedented year
In March, Parliament took a decision to suspend its programme as a precautionary measure due to COVID-19, which saw a drastic limit to the number ...
On the 11th of November, affected South African in 95 wards across the country will be making their way to cast their votes in this year’s municipal by-elections. Unlike the general national elections, where all South African citizens who are 18 years and older can vote, the by-elections take place ...
It’s a week of farewells and loose ends…
The constituency and leave period beckons, with MPs due to depart at the end of the week and return to Parliament next year. But a fair amount of work will be done before they go and there is plenty of opportunity for ...
Information and communication technology has changed rapidly over the past 20 years with a key development being the emergence of social media.
Social media has had a powerful impact in the way that we communicate, how we formulate our opinions and how we perceive of ourselves, others and the ...
It's the penultimate week of the parliamentary year.
As a result, there is a bit of frenzy as legislation and important business that can be completed are rushed to the finishing line while other less urgent parliamentary business is dropped for lack of time.
In the remaining days, lawmakers in ...
Voter turnout for by-elections, which are used to fill political offices that become vacant between general elections, has historically lagged behind that for municipal, provincial and national elections. There are many reasons why this is the case. In our October survey, we looked at voter attitudes and views on ...
There are three weeks left until Parliament rises for the year.
In the remaining days, lawmakers are scheduled to vote on several Bills, approve government spending, hold debates, scrutinise government performance, consider statutory appointments and instruments and finalise assorted Committee Reports.
The NA chamber has a full programme and will ...
The President's oral question session on Thursday is the high point of the parliamentary week. The President is required to answer questions of national or international importance once per term in accordance with the annual parliamentary programme. The questions are sifted and published beforehand to ensure that only those satisfying ...
The endgame of the parliamentary year is fast approaching. There are only five weeks left before the legislature rises and loose ends are gradually being knitted together.
Following last week’s presentation of the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), Parliament’s role in the processing and approval of the mini-budget kicks into ...
