Parliament of South Africa

E23903

bicameral legislature national legislature

The Parliament of South Africa is the country’s national legislative body, responsible for making laws, overseeing the executive, and representing the people at the federal level.

Aliases (3)

Statements (46)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	bicameral legislature → national legislature →
budgetaryPower	authorizes national budget →
canAmend	Constitution of the Republic of South Africa →
composedOf	members elected by proportional representation →
constitutionalBasis	Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 →
country	South Africa →
electoralSystemLowerHouse	party-list proportional representation →
established	1910 →
function	oversees the executive → represents the people of South Africa →
governmentBranch	legislative branch of South Africa →
hasChamber	National Assembly of South Africa → National Council of Provinces →
hasMotto	We, the People (implied by constitutional sovereignty) →
hasWebsite	https://www.parliament.gov.za/ →
headOfStateElectionRole	elects the President of South Africa →
historicalPeriod	Republic of South Africa era → Union of South Africa era →
jurisdiction	Republic of South Africa →
languagePolicy	uses South Africa’s official languages subject to practical arrangements →
legalSystemContext	part of South Africa’s constitutional democracy →
legislativeFunction	makes national laws →
locatedIn	Cape Town →
locatedInBuilding	Parliament House, Cape Town →
lowerHouse	National Assembly of South Africa →
meetsAt	Parliamentary precinct, Cape Town →
meetsFrequency	regular sessions and special sittings as required →
notableEvent	first democratic sitting in 1994 →
numberOfMembersLowerHouse	400 →
numberOfMembersUpperHouse	90 →
oversightMechanism	parliamentary committees →
precededBy	Cape Parliament → Natal Legislative Assembly → Orange River Colony Legislative Assembly → Transvaal Legislative Assembly →
previousConstitutionalBasis	Interim Constitution of South Africa, 1993 →
reconstitutedAs	democratic Parliament after 1994 elections →
reportsTo	people of South Africa →
securityIncident	fire at Parliament complex in January 2022 →
supervises	Cabinet of South Africa →
termLengthLowerHouse	5 years →
termLengthUpperHouse	5 years →
typeOfRepresentation	multi-party →
upperHouse	National Council of Provinces →
votingSystemUpperHouse	delegation-based voting by provinces →

Referenced by (16)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Bantu Education Act → Population Registration Act →	enactedBy
Hertzog Bills ("Parliament of the Union of South Africa") → United Party (South Africa) →	legislativeBody
Government of National Unity (South Africa) → South Africa →	legislature
House of Assembly of the Union of South Africa ("Parliament of the Union of South Africa") → National Council of Provinces →	partOf
Heilbron → Sunnyside (South African parliamentary constituency) →	representedIn
Cape Town →	hasGovernmentBody
Northern Cape Provincial Legislature →	higherLegalAuthority
Government of South Africa →	legislativePartner
Government of National Unity (South Africa) ("First Parliament of the Republic of South Africa (1994–1999)") →	legislativeTerm
South Africa ("National Assembly of South Africa") →	lowerHouse
House of Assembly of the Union of South Africa ("Parliament of the Union of South Africa") →	parliamentaryChamberOf