Free State Provincial Legislature#Officers
{{Short description|Legislature of the Free State Province, South Africa}}
{{Use South African English|date=July 2016}}{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox legislature
| background_color = Green
| name = Free State Provincial Legislature
| native_name = {{native name|af|{{small|Vrystaatse Provinsiale Wetgewer}}|fontsize=68%}}
{{native name|st|{{small|Kopano ea Molao ea Lekhotla la Free State}}|fontsize=68%}}
| legislature = 7th Legislature
| coa_pic = Free State Legislature seal.jpg
| coa_res = 200px
| house_type = Unicameral
| leader1_type = Speaker
| leader1 = Mxolisi Dukwana
| party1 = ANC
| leader2_type = Deputy Speaker
| leader2 = Nolitha Ndungane
| party2 = ANC
| election2 = 27 June 2024
| leader3_type = Premier
| leader3 = Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae
| party3 = ANC
| election3 = 14 June 2024
| leader4_type = Leader of the Opposition
| leader4 = Roy Jankielsohn
| party4 = DA
| election4 = 21 May 2014[https://www.pa.org.za/person/r-jankielsohn/ Roy Jankielsohn]. Retrieved on 23 May 2019.
| house1 =
| house2 =
| structure1 = South Africa_Free State_Parliament_2024.svg
| structure1_res = 220px
| structure1_alt =
| structure2 =
| structure2_res =
| structure2_alt =
| members = 30
| political_groups1 =
Government (16)
- {{Color box|{{party color|African National Congress}}|border=darkgray}} ANC (16)
Official Opposition (7)
- {{Color box|{{party color|Democratic Alliance (South Africa)}}|border=darkgray}} DA (7)
Other parties (7)
- {{Color box|{{party color|Economic Freedom Fighters}}|border=darkgray}} EFF (4)
- {{Color box|{{party color|Freedom Front Plus}}|border=darkgray}} FF+ (1)
- {{Color box|{{party color|uMkhonto we Sizwe (political party)}}|border=darkgray}} MK (1)
- {{Color box|{{party color|African Congress for Transformation}}|border=darkgray}} ACT (1)
| political_groups2 =
| committees1 =
| committees2 =
| joint_committees =
| voting_system1 = Party-list proportional representation
| last_election1 = 29 May 2024
| meeting_place = Legislative Chamber, Vierde Raadsaal, Bloemfontein
| session_room = Legislative chamber, Free State parliament (6461110525).jpg
| website = [http://www.fsl.gov.za/ Free State Legislature]
| footnotes =
}}
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 of the Free State, who in turn selects the members of the Executive Council of the Free State.
Powers
The Free State Provincial Legislature chooses the Premier of the 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, including include health, education (except universities), agriculture, housing, environmental protection, and development planning. In some fields, legislative power is shared with the national parliament, while in other fields it is reserved to the Free State alone.
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 29 May 2024. The following table summarises the results.
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right" | ||||
| colspan=2| Party | Votes | Vote % | Seats | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| {{Party name with colour|African National Congress}} | 429,241 | 51.87 | 16 | |
| {{Party name with colour|Democratic Alliance (South Africa)}} | 181,062 | 21.88 | 7 | |
| {{Party name with colour|Economic Freedom Fighters}} | 111,850 | 13.52 | 4 | |
| {{Party name with colour|Freedom Front Plus}} | 24,933 | 3.01 | 1 | |
| {{Party name with colour|uMkhonto we Sizwe (political party)}}
|15,985 |1.93 |1 | ||||
| {{Party name with colour|African Congress for Transformation}}
|15,120 |1.83 |1 | ||||
| style="background-color:grey" | | style="text-align:left" | Other parties | 49,321 | 5.96 | 0 |
| colspan="2" style="text-align:left" | Total | 827,512 | 100.0 | 30 |
The following table shows the composition of the provincial parliament after past elections. The African National Congress has held a majority in the legislature since 1994, while the Democratic Alliance has been the official opposition since 2014, when it displaced the Congress of the People.
| class="wikitable" | |||||
| colspan="2" |Party
! 1994 ! 1999 ! 2004 ! 2009 ! 2014 ! 2019 !2024 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| {{party colour cell|African Christian Democratic Party}}
| African Christian Democratic Party | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0
|0 |
| {{party colour cell|African Congress for Transformation}}
|African Congress for Transformation |— |— |— |— |— |— |1 | |||||
| {{party colour cell|African National Congress}}
| 24 | 25 | 25 | 22 | 22 | 19
|16 |
| {{party colour cell|Congress of the People (South African political party)}}
|— |— |— |4 |0 |0 |0 | |||||
| {{party colour cell|Democratic Alliance (South Africa)}}
| Democratic Alliance / Democratic Party | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 6
|7 |
| {{party colour cell|Economic Freedom Fighters}}
| — | — | — | — | 2 | 4
|4 |
| {{party colour cell|Freedom Front Plus}}
| Freedom Front Plus / Freedom Front | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1
|1 |
| {{party colour cell|New National Party (South Africa)}}
| New National Party / National Party | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | —
|— |
| {{party colour cell|uMkhonto we Sizwe (political party)}}
|— |— |— |— |— |— |1 | |||||
| colspan="2" |Total
| colspan="7" |30 |
Officers
The following people have served as Speaker of the Free State Provincial Legislature.
| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Name !Term start !Term end !Party |
| {{Party colour cell|African National Congress}}
|Motlalepula ChabakuExecutive Summary: Provincial 10 Year Review Implementation Report |1994 |1998 |ANC |
| {{Party colour cell|African National Congress}}
|1998 |2001 |ANC |
| {{Party colour cell|African National Congress}}
|2001 |2002 |ANC |
| {{Party colour cell|African National Congress}}
|2002 |2008 |ANC |
| {{Party colour cell|African National Congress}}
|2013 |2014 |ANC |
| {{Party colour cell|African National Congress}}
|2014 |2014 |ANC |
| {{Party colour cell|African National Congress}}
|2015 |2019 |ANC |
| {{Party colour cell|African National Congress}}
|2019 |2024 |ANC |
| {{Party colour cell|African National Congress}}
|2024 |Incumbent |ANC |
Members
{{See also|1=Member of the Provincial Legislature}}
- Members of the 6th Free State Provincial Legislature (2019–2024)
- Members of the 5th Free State Provincial Legislature (2014–2019)
- Members of the 4th Free State Provincial Legislature (2009–2014)
- Members of the 3rd Free State Provincial Legislature (2004–2009)
- Members of the 2nd Free State Provincial Legislature (1999–2004)
References
{{Reflist}}
{{SALegislatures}}
{{National Key Points navbox}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Provincial legislatures of South Africa