Political parties not required to have agreed on governance before first sitting of Parliament, says CASAC
Parliament is required to hold its first sitting within 14 days after election results are declared - to swear in new members, elect a speaker, a deputy speaker and the president.
The Houses of Parliament in Cape Town. Picture: Lindsay Dentlinger/Eyewitness News
CAPE TOWN - As the nation anxiously waits to see whether political parties can come up with a power sharing agreement for a majority government.
The Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (CASAC) says there’s no rush to do so.
CASAC's executive director, Lawson Naidoo, said political parties do not have to reach any form of coalition agreement by the time Parliament is required to sit for the first time.
Parliament is required to hold its first sitting within 14 days after election results are declared - to swear in new members, elect a speaker, a deputy speaker and the president.
In an unprecedented situation since democracy - the African National Congress (ANC) does not have an outright majority to take full control of government and Parliament.
This means it will have to strike some form of deal with opposition parties to avoid the instability of being a minority government.
But Naidoo said there’s still ample time to thrash one out - even after the first sitting of Parliament.
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“The Constitution says nothing about the formation of a government. All it says is that the president must be elected. The president appoints the deputy president and the Cabinet. There’s no time frame given for when the president must do that.”
Only a third of members present is required when the house first meets to elect a president.
“What probably needs to be agreed by then, is a broad agreement as to who’s going to be the president, in order to get a majority to elect that person.”
The current Cabinet will remain in place until the president appoints a new one.
Naidoo said it’s, however, a constitutional grey area whether ministers who won’t be sworn in again as members of Parliament (MPs) - will be allowed to remain in their portfolios until the president announces his new Cabinet.
Parliament is not expected to settle down to business until mid to late July - giving the ANC ample time find suitable bedfellows to run the seventh administration.
On Thursday, the chief justice will hand over the list of names of new MPs to Parliament to pave the way for a first sitting expected on 18 June 2024.