Following the declaration of the 2024 National and Provincial elections results, Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has officially set a date for the first sitting of the National Assembly for Friday, 14 June 2024 at 10:00am.
This comes days after Zondo officially received the lists of members heading to the National Assembly and the provincial legislatures and handed them over to the Secretary of Parliament.
The Chief Justice will preside over the first sitting which will swear in members of the National Assembly.
The sitting will also see the election of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly as well as the election of the President.
Parliament must be constituted within 14 days of the declaration of the election results.
The election of the Speaker, Deputy and the President are critical to the formation of the National Assembly while the election of the President is critical to ensure the formation of a government.
We look briefly at the constitutional process.
Currently there is no National Assembly in place. To form an Assembly requires the swearing- in of members, presided over by the Chief Justice or any judge designated by the Chief Justice.
This is followed by the election of the Speaker who will then preside over the election of the Deputy Speaker. Once the Assembly has been fully constituted, the Chief Justice will be back in the chair to preside over the election of the President.
The President-elect must then be sworn-in and inaugurated as President of the country within five days, before he or she must appoint a cabinet and national executive from amongst members of the Assembly to form a government.
The President may also select not more than two Ministers who are not members of the Assembly, to form part of his or her government.
