During a ceremony hosted at the Constitutional Court on Thursday, the official handover list of designated members elected to the National Assembly was presented.
Chief Justice Raymond Zondo officially received the list of members of the National Assembly and Provincial Legislatures from the Chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), Mosotho Moepya.
Moepya said the list comprised of 174 women and 226 men, meaning 43.5% of elected representatives are women and 56.5% are men. The representatives range from ages 20 to 79.
Breakdown of ages:
– Between the ages of 20 to 29, there are 12 candidates
– Between the ages of 30 to 39, there are 67 candidates
– Between the ages of 40 to 49, there are 110 candidates
– Between the ages of 50 to 59, there are 110 candidates
– Between the ages of 60 to 69, there are 90 candidates
– From the age of 70 and above there are 11 candidates
Thereafter, the list was transferred to the Secretary to Parliament, Xolile George, as preparations had already commenced for the first sitting of the National Assembly.
The process of constituting the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) differs from that of the National Assembly as the NCOP remains competent until immediately before the first sitting of the provincial legislatures.
The list of new members to be delegated to the NCOP will be determined at the first sitting of each provincial legislature – with each of the nine provinces eligible to delegate 10 members (six permanent and four special delegates) to the NCOP.
The first sitting of the legislatures will be scheduled on the same day as the first sitting of the National Assembly. The first sitting of the NCOP is expected to be a day after the first sitting of the National Assembly.
Upon receiving the list, George said they had been hard at work preparing to welcome the elected representatives to the National Assembly and the Provincial Legislatures and the establishment of the seventh democratic Parliament and the nine Provincial Legislatures.
“We have critically considered the parliamentary rules, mechanisms, and processes to ensure that the work of Members of Parliament is facilitated and supported effectively. Arrangements are in place for the first sittings of the National Assembly, the Provincial Legislatures, and the National Council of Provinces.
“With the receipt of the official list of elected representatives, I assure the Chief Justice and our nation, that our work will continue in earnest to ensure seamless, efficient, and effective foundational processes, so that the work of Members of both Houses of Parliament and the Provincial Legislatures can commence without delay,” George said.