Free State Provincial Legislature


The Free State Provincial Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African province of Free State. It is unicameral in its composition, and elects the premier and the executive council from among the members of the leading party or coalition in the parliament.

Powers

The Free State Provincial Legislature chooses the Premier of Free State, the head of the Free State's provincial executive. The legislature can force the Premier to resign by passing a motion of no confidence. Although the Executive Council is chosen by the Premier, the legislature may pass a motion of no confidence to force the Premier to change the composition of the Council. The legislature also appoints Free State's delegates to the National Council of Provinces, allocating delegates to parties in proportion to the number of seats each party holds in the legislature.
The legislature has the power to pass legislation in numerous fields specified in the national constitution; in some fields, the legislative power is shared with the national parliament, while in other fields it is solely reserved to the Free State alone. The fields include health, education, agriculture, housing, environmental protection, and development planning.
The legislature oversees the administration of the Free State provincial government, and the Premier and the members of the Executive Council are required to report to the legislature on the performance of their responsibilities. The legislature also manages the finances of the provincial government by way of the appropriation bills which determine the Free State's provincial budget.

Election

The provincial legislature consists of 30 members, who are elected through a system of party list proportional representation with closed lists. The most recent election was held on 8 May 2019. The following table summarises the results.
The following table shows the composition of the provincial parliament after past elections.
EventACDPANCCOPEDP/DAEFFFF/FF+NP/NNP
1994 election024———24
1999 election025—2—12
2004 election125—3—10
2009 election02243—1—
2014 election0220521—
2019 election0190641—

Officers

The following people have served as Speaker of the Free State Provincial Legislature:
NameEntered OfficeLeft OfficeParty
Motlalepule Chambaku19941998ANC
Joel Mafereka19982001ANC
Jani Mohapi20012002ANC
Mxolisi Dukwana20022008ANC
Sisi Mabe20142014ANC
Motlagomang Qabathe20152019ANC
Zanele Sifuba2019IncumbentANC

Members