South Africa Constitution Excerpts

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See the proportional representation references in Sections 46, 105 and 157.
The failure to specify the p.r. method to be used will lead to statutory
manipulation sooner or later.  Instant run-off fans- see Schedule 3, Part A,
item 7 (at bottom).  Good luck to the folks in South Africa with their
defective constitution- they will need it.
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Chapter 2
Bill of Rights 
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Political rights
19. (1) Every citizen is free to make political
choices, which includes the right - 

(a) to form a political party;

(b) to participate in the activities of, or recruit
members for, a political party; and

(c) to campaign for a political party or cause.

(2) Every citizen has the right to free, fair and
regular elections for any legislative body
established in terms of the Constitution.

(3) Every adult citizen has the right -

(a) to vote in elections for any legislative body
established in terms of the Constitution, and to do
so in secret; and

(b) to stand for public office and, if elected, to
hold office. 
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Chapter 4
Parliament
Composition of Parliament
42. (1) Parliament consists of -

(a) the National Assembly; and

(b) the National Council of Provinces.

(2) The National Assembly and the National Council of
Provinces participate in the legislative process in
the manner set out in the Constitution.

(3) The National Assembly is elected to represent the
people and to ensure government by the people under
the Constitution. It does this by choosing the
President, by providing a national forum for public
consideration of issues, by passing legislation and
by scrutinizing and overseeing executive action.

(4) The National Council of Provinces represents the
provinces to ensure that provincial interests are
taken into account in the national sphere of
government. It does this mainly by participating in
the national legislative process and by providing a
national forum for public consideration of issues
affecting the provinces.

(5) The President may summon Parliament to an
extraordinary sitting at any time to conduct special
business.

(6) The seat of Parliament is Cape Town, but an Act
of Parliament, enacted in accordance with section
76(1) and (5), may determine that the seat of
Parliament is elsewhere. 
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The National Assembly 
Composition and election 
46. (1) The National Assembly consists of no fewer than 
350 and no more than 400 women and men elected 
as members in terms of an electoral system that -

(a) is prescribed by national legislation;

(b) is based on the national common voters roll;

(c) provides for a minimum voting age of 18 years;
and

(d) results, in general, in proportional
representation.

(2) An Act of Parliament must provide a formula for
determining the number of members of the National
Assembly.
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Chapter 6
Provinces
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Composition and election of provincial legislatures
105. (1) A provincial legislature consists of women
and men elected as members in terms of an electoral
system that -

(a) is prescribed by national legislation;

(b) is based on that province's segment of the
national common voters roll;

(c) provides for a minimum voting age of 18 years;
and

(d) results, in general, in proportional
representation.

(2) A provincial legislature consists of between 30
and 80 members. The number of members, which may
differ among the provinces, must be determined in
terms of a formula prescribed by national
legislation.
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Chapter 7
Local Government
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Composition and election of Municipal Councils
157. (1) A Municipal Council consists of -

(a) members elected in accordance with subsections
(2), (3), (4) and (5); 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.

(2) The election of members to a Municipal Council as
anticipated in subsection (1)(a) must be in
accordance with national legislation, which must
prescribe a system -

(a) of proportional representation based on that
municipality's segment of the national common voters
roll, and which provides for the election of members
from lists of party candidates drawn up in a party's
order of preference; or

(b) of proportional representation as described in
paragraph (a) combined with a system of ward
representation based on that municipality's segment
of the national common voters roll.

(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.

(4) If the electoral system includes ward
representation, the delimitation of wards must be
done by an independent authority appointed in terms
of, and operating according to, procedures and
criteria prescribed by national legislation.

(5) A person may vote in a municipality only if that
person is registered on that municipality's segment
of the national common voters roll.

(6) The national legislation referred to in
subsection (1)(b) must establish a system that allows
for parties and interests reflected within the
Municipal Council making the appointment, to be
fairly represented in the Municipal Council to which
the appointment is made.
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Chapter 9
State Institutions Supporting
Constitutional Democracy
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Electoral Commission
Functions of Electoral Commission
190. (1) The Electoral Commission must -

(a) manage elections of national, provincial and
municipal legislative bodies in accordance with
national legislation;

(b) ensure that those elections are free and fair;
and

(c) declare the results of those elections within a
period that must be prescribed by national
legislation and that is as short as reasonably
possible.

(2) The Electoral Commission has the additional
powers and functions prescribed by national
legislation. Composition of Electoral Commission

191. The Electoral Commission must be composed of at
least three persons. The number of members and their
terms of office must be prescribed by national
legislation.
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Chapter 14
General Provisions
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243. (1) This Act is called the Constitution of the
Republic of South Africa, 1996, and comes into effect
as soon as possible on a date set by the President by
proclamation, which may not be a date later than 1
July 1997.

(2) The President may set different dates before the
date mentioned in subsection (1) in respect of
different provisions of the Constitution.

(3) Unless the context otherwise indicates, a
reference in a provision of the Constitution to a
time when the Constitution took effect must be
construed as a reference to the time when that
provision took effect.

(4) If a different date is set for any particular
provision of the Constitution in terms of subsection
(2), any corresponding provision of the Constitution
of the Republic of South Africa, 1993 (Act 200 of
1993), mentioned in the proclamation, is repealed
with effect from the same date.

(5) Sections 213, 214, 215, 216, 218, 226, 227, 228,
229 and 230 come into effect on 1 January 1998, but
this does not preclude the enactment in terms of this
Constitution of legislation envisaged in any of these
provisions before that date. Until that date any
corresponding and incidental provisions of the
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1993,
remain in force.
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Schedule 3
Election Procedures
Part A - Election Procedures
for Constitutional Office-Bearers
Application

1. The procedure set out in this Schedule applies
whenever -

(a) the National Assembly meets to elect the
President, or the Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the
Assembly;

(b) the National Council of Provinces meets to elect
its Chairperson or a Deputy Chairperson; or

(c) a provincial legislature meets to elect the
Premier of the province or the Speaker or Deputy
Speaker of the legislature.

Nominations

2. The person presiding at a meeting to which this
Schedule applies must call for the nomination of
candidates at the meeting.

Formal requirements

3. (1) A nomination must be made on the form
prescribed by the rules mentioned in item 9.

(2) The form on which a nomination is made must be
signed -

(a) by two members of the National Assembly, if the
President or the Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the
Assembly is to be elected;

(b) on behalf of two provincial delegations, if the
Chairperson or a Deputy Chairperson of the National
Council of Provinces is to be elected; or

(c) by two members of the relevant provincial
legislature, if the Premier of the province or the
Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the legislature is to be
elected.

(3) A person who is nominated must indicate
acceptance of the nomination by signing either the
nomination form or any other form of written
confirmation.

Announcement of names of candidates

4. At a meeting to which this Schedule applies, the
person presiding must announce the names of the
persons who have been nominated as candidates, but
may not permit any debate.

Single candidate

5. If only one candidate is nominated, the person
presiding must declare that candidate elected.

Election procedure

6. If more than one candidate is nominated -

(a) a vote must be taken at the meeting by secret
ballot;

(b) each member present, or if it is a meeting of the
National Council of Provinces, each province
represented, at the meeting may cast one vote; and

(c) the person presiding must declare elected the
candidate who receives a majority of the votes.

Elimination procedure

7. (1) If no candidate receives a majority of the
votes, the candidate who receives the lowest number
of votes must be eliminated and a further vote taken
on the remaining candidates in accordance with item
6. This procedure must be repeated until a candidate
receives a majority of the votes.

(2) When applying subitem (1), if two or more
candidates each have the lowest number of votes, a
separate vote must be taken on those candidates, and
repeated as often as may be necessary to determine
which candidate is to be eliminated.

Further meetings

8. (1) If only two candidates are nominated, or if
only two candidates remain after an elimination
procedure has been applied, and those two candidates
receive the same number of votes, a further meeting
must be held within seven days, at a time determined
by the person presiding.

(2) If a further meeting is held in terms of subitem
(1), the procedure prescribed in this Schedule must
be applied at that meeting as if it were the first
meeting for the election in question.

Rules

9. (1) The President of the Constitutional Court must
make rules prescribing -

(a) the procedure for meetings to which this Schedule
applies;

(b) the duties of any person presiding at a meeting,
and any person assisting the person presiding;

(c) the form on which nominations must be submitted;
and

(d) the manner in which voting is to be conducted.

(2) These rules must be made known in the way that
the President of the Constitutional Court determines.

Part B - Formula to Determine Party Participation in
Provincial Delegations to the National Council of
Provinces

1. The number of delegates in a provincial delegation
to the National Council of Provinces to which a party
is entitled, must be determined by multiplying the
number of seats the party holds in the provincial
legislature by ten and dividing the result by the
number of seats in the legislature plus one.

2. If a calculation in terms of item 1 yields a
surplus not absorbed by the delegates allocated to a
party in terms of that item, the surplus must compete
with similar surpluses accruing to any other party or
parties, and any undistributed delegates in the
delegation must be allocated to the party or parties
in the sequence of the highest surplus.