# Constitution Fourteenth Amendment Act of 2008

* related portals: Constitutional documents of South Africa.
* sister projects: Wikipedia article, Wikidata item.
The Constitution Fourteenth Amendment Act of 2008 is an act of the Parliament of South Africa amending the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. It abolished floor-crossing in the National Assembly and the provincial legislatures, by reversing the effects of the Constitution Ninth Amendment Act of 2002 and the Constitution Tenth Amendment Act of 2003. A presidential proclamation brought it into effect on 17 April 2009, simultaneously with the Constitution Fifteenth Amendment Act of 2008, which abolished floor-crossing in municipal councils.
Note that [words in bold type in square brackets] indicate omissions from existing enactments, while words underlined with a solid line indicate insertions in existing enactments.
(English text signed by the President.) (Assented to 6 January 2009.)
Act
To amend the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, so as to—
and to provide for matters connected therewith.
Parliament of the Republic of South Africa enacts as follows:—
Amendment of section 61 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, as amended by section 1 of the Constitution Ninth Amendment Act of 2002
1. Section 61 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (hereinafter referred to as the Constitution), is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (2) of the following subsection:
“(2) (a) A provincial legislature must, within 30 days after the result of an election of that legislature is declared—
(i)
(ii)
[(b) If the composition of a provincial legislature is changed on account of changes of party membership, mergers between parties, subdivision of parties or subdivision and merger of parties within that legislature, it must within 30 days after such change—
(i)
(ii)
Amendment of section 62 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, as amended by section 2 of the Constitution Ninth Amendment Act of 2002
2. Section 62 of the Constitution is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (3) of the following subsection:
“(3) Permanent delegates are appointed for a term that expires—
(a)
(b)
Amendment of section 105 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, as amended by section 3 of the Constitution Tenth Amendment Act of 2003
3. Section 105 of the Constitution is hereby amended by the substitution in subsection (1) for the words preceding paragraph (a) of the following words:
“[Subject to Schedule 6A, a] A provincial legislature consists of women and men elected as members in terms of an electoral system that—”.
Amendment of section 106 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, as amended by section 4 of the Constitution Tenth Amendment Act of 2003
4. Section 106 of the Constitution is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (3) of the following subsection:
“(3) A person loses membership of a provincial legislature if that person—
(a)
(b)
(c)
Amendment of Schedule 3 to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, as amended by section 2 of the Constitution Fourth Amendment Act of 1999, section 19 of the Constitution Sixth Amendment Act of 2001 and section 3 of the Constitution Ninth Amendment Act of 2002
5. Schedule 3 to the Constitution is hereby amended—
(a)
3. If the competing surpluses envisaged in item 2 are equal, the undistributed delegates in the delegation must be allocated to the party or parties[, including any merged party as contemplated in section 61 (2) (b),] with the same surplus in the sequence [of votes recorded, starting with the party or merged party which recorded] from the highest to the lowest number of votes[, including combined votes in the case of a merged party,] that have been recorded for those parties during the last election for the provincial legislature concerned[, but if any of the parties with the same surplus—
(a)
(b)
the legislature must allocate the undistributed delegates in the delegation to the party or parties with the same surplus in a manner which is consistent with democracy].”; and
(b)
“4. If more than one party with the same surplus recorded the same number of votes during the last election for the provincial legislature concerned, the legislature concerned must allocate the undistributed delegates in the delegation to the party or parties with the same surplus in a manner which is consistent with democracy.”.
Repeal of Schedule 6A to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, as inserted by section 6 of the Constitution Tenth Amendment Act of 2003
6. Schedule 6A to the Constitution is hereby repealed.
Short title and commencement
7. This Act is called the Constitution Fourteenth Amendment Act of 2008, and comes into operation on a date set by the President by proclamation in the Gazette.
This work is in the public domain because it was created and first published in South Africa and it is an official text of a legislative, administrative or legal nature, or an official translation of such a text.
According to the Copyright Act, 1978, § 12 (8) (a), "No copyright shall subsist in official texts of a legislative, administrative or legal nature, or in official translations of such texts."
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse