Page:Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Amendment Act 2002 from Government Gazette.djvu/3

---

Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Amendment Act, 2002

Act No. 18, 2002

• ensuring that the total number of members elected from each party reflects the total proportion of the votes recorded for those parties;

and whereas section 158 provides for certain criteria for eligibility for membership of a Municipal Council;

and whereas the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, 1998, provides for an electoral system for local government comprising proportional representation combined with a system of ward representation;

and whereas no provision has been made in the Constitution in respect of local government for—

• a councillor to retain membership of a Municipal Council where such a councillor ceases to be a member of the party which nominated that councillor; and
• any party to merge with another party, or any party to subdivide into more than one party or any party to subdivide and any one of the subdivisions to merge with another party, whilst allowing a member of a Council affected by such changes, to retain membership of that Council;

and whereas section 27 of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, 1998, provides that a councillor—

• who was elected from a party list and ceases to be a member of that party; or
• who was elected to represent a ward and who was—

(i)

nominated by a party as a candidate in the ward election and ceases to be a member of that party; or

(ii)

not nominated by a party as a candidate in the ward election and becomes a member of a party,

ceases to be a member of the Municipal Council in question;

and whereas the need exists for uniformity within the three spheres of government regarding loss or retention of membership of any legislature or Municipal Council in the event of a change of party membership, or mergers or subdivision or subdivision and merger of parties,

Be it therefore enacted by the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, as follows:—

Amendment of section 157 of Act 108 of 1996, as amended by section 2 of Act 87 of 1998

1. Section 157 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, is hereby amended—

(a)

by the substitution for subsection (1) of the following subsection:

“(1) Subject to Schedule 6A, a Municipal Council consists of—

(a)

members elected in accordance with subsections [(2), (3), (4) and (5)] (2) and (3); or

(b)

if provided for by national legislation—

(i)

members appointed by other Municipal Councils to represent those other Councils: or

(ii)

both members elected in accordance with paragraph (a) and members appointed in accordance with subparagraph (i) of this paragraph.”; and

(b)

by the substitution for subsection (3) of the following subsection:

“(3) An electoral system in terms of subsection (2) must [ensure that the total number of members elected from each party reflects the total proportion of the votes recorded for those parties] result, in general, in proportional representation.”.