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 leading party or coalition members in the parliament. Thami Ntuli of the Inkatha Freedom Party was elected Premier of KwaZulu-Natal at the first sitting of the provincial legislature on 14 June 2024.[2]

KwaZulu-Natal Legislature

IsiShayamthetho saKwaZulu-Natali (Zulu)
7th Legislature
Type
Type
Leadership
Speaker
Deputy Speaker
Premier
Thami Ntuli, Inkatha Freedom Party
since 14 June 2024
Structure
Seats80
Political groups
Government (41)
  •   IFP (15)
  •   ANC (14)
  •   DA (11)
  •   NFP (1)

Official Opposition (37)

  •   MK (37)

Other parties (2)

Elections
Party-list proportional representation
Last election
29 May 2024
Meeting place
239 Langalibalele Street, Pietermaritzburg
Website
kznlegislature.gov.za

Powers

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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 Premier appoints the members of the Executive Council, 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 Executive Council members 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

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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 29 May 2024. The following table summarises the results.

 
PartyVotes%+/–Seats+/–
uMkhonto we Sizwe1,590,81345.35New37New
Inkatha Freedom Party633,77118.07  2.7315  2
African National Congress595,95816.99  27.2314  30
Democratic Alliance468,51513.36  0.5411  0
Economic Freedom Fighters79,2112.26  7.652  6
National Freedom Party19,5480.56  1.011  0
Moodley Thanasagren Rubbanathan12,3230.35New0New
African Christian Democratic Party11,3660.32  0.160  1
ActionSA9,5690.27New0New
Allied Movement for Change8,0070.23New0New
Patriotic Alliance7,8430.22New0New
African Transformation Movement6,4770.18  0.310  1
Democratic Liberal Congress6,1260.17  0.210  0
Al Jama-ah6,0120.17  0.110  0
Freedom Front Plus5,6380.16  0.150  0
Build One South Africa4,6480.13New0New
African People's Movement4,1170.12New0New
Rise Mzansi3,8980.11New0New
Pan Africanist Congress of Azania3,8170.11  0.040  0
Justice and Employment Party3,6260.10  0.130  0
Congress of the People3,6150.10  0.040  0
Abantu Batho Congress3,2140.09New0New
People's Freedom Party3,1620.09New0New
Sizwe Ummah Nation2,7310.08New0New
United Democratic Movement2,5650.07  0.030  0
African Independent Congress2,5270.07  0.190  0
African Movement Congress2,0490.06New0New
Good2,0050.06  0.050  0
Arise SA1,9580.06New0New
African People First1,0070.03New0New
Economic Liberators Forum South Africa6790.02New0New
All Citizens Party6310.02New0New
Africa Restoration Alliance6290.02New0New
Total3,508,055100.0080
Valid votes3,508,05598.88
Invalid/blank votes39,7611.12
Total votes3,547,816100.00
Registered voters/turnout5,738,24961.83
Source: Electoral Commission of South Africa

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

Event ACDP ANC DP/DA EFF IFP MF MK 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 11 8 13 1 1 0 0 1
2024 election 0 14 11 2 15 37 1 0 0 0

Officers

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The Speaker of the Legislature is Ntobeko Boyce, while the Deputy Speaker is Mmabatho Tembe.[3] The following people have served as Speaker:

Name Entered Office Left Office Party
Bonga Mdletshe[4][5] 1998 2004 IFP
Willies Mchunu 2004 2009 ANC
Peggy Nkonyeni[6] 2009 2013 ANC
Lydia Johnson[7][8] 2013 2019 ANC
Ntobeko Boyce 2019 Incumbent ANC

Membership

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References

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  1. ^ Arde, Greg (14 June 2024). "Inkatha Freedom Party's Thami Ntuli is voted in as KwaZulu-Natal's new premier". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  2. ^ Motha, Sandile (2024-06-14). "IFP chair Thami Ntuli elected KZN premier as GNU flexes muscle". Sunday World. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  3. ^ "DA's Tembe elected KZN Legislature Deputy Speaker". The Witness. 2024-06-14. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  4. ^ "Speaker: Bonga Nkanyiso Mdletshe". KwaZulu-Natal Parliament. Archived from the original on 19 January 2004. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  5. ^ Speaker Mdletshe was re-elected on June 18, 1999
  6. ^ Peggy Nkonyeni appointed KZN education MEC. News24. 7 October 2013. Retrieved on 8 January 2019.
  7. ^ Election of the new Speaker of the KZN Legislature. Retrieved on 8 January 2019.
  8. ^ Lydia Johnson new speaker of KZN legislature - ANC KZN. Retrieved on 8 January 2019.
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