2003 South African floor-crossing window period
Encyclopedia
The 2003 floor crossing window period in South Africa
was a period of 15 days, from 21 March to 4 April 2003, in which members of the National Assembly and the provincial legislature
s were able to cross the floor from one political party to another without giving up their seats. The period was authorised by the passage of the Tenth Amendment
of the Constitution of South Africa
. The amendment scheduled regular window periods in the second and fourth September after each election, but the second and fourth Septembers after the 1999 election had already passed, so it included provision for a special window period starting fifteen days after the amendment came into effect.
In the National Assembly, the floor-crossing expanded the African National Congress
' (ANC) representation from 266 seats, one short of the two-thirds majority needed to amend the constitution, to 275 seats. In the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature, the Inkatha Freedom Party
(IFP) and the ANC were before the window period the largest and second-largest parties respectively. As a result of the floor-crossing, they changed places; however, the ANC did not attain an absolute majority, holding 35 seats of 80. In the Western Cape Provincial Parliament
the ANC expanded its representation to an absolute majority, growing from 18 to 22 seats of a total 42.
During this window period representatives of the Democratic Party
(DP) officially became representatives of the Democratic Alliance (DA). Amongst a group of new parties created by floor-crossing, the most significant was the Independent Democrats, who gained one member in the National Assembly and one in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.
The tables below show all the changes; in those provinces not listed there was no change in the provincial legislature, other than the DP becoming the DA.
!colspan="2" style="text-align:left"|Party
!Seats before
!Net change
!Seats after
|-
|
|266
| +9
|275
|-
|Democratic Party
representatives officially became Democratic Alliance representatives during this floor-crossing period.
|38
| +8
|46
|-
|
|34
| −3
|31
|-
|
|28
| −8
|20
|-
|
|6
| +1
|7
|-
|
|14
| −10
|4
|-
|
|3
| 0
|3
|-
|
|3
| 0
|3
|-
|
|3
| −1
|2
|-
|bgcolor="#eeeeee"|
|style="text-align:left"|Federal Alliance
|2
| 0
|2
|-
|
|1
| 0
|1
|-
|
|1
| 0
|1
|-
|bgcolor="#eeeeee"|
|style="text-align:left"|African Independent MovementParty created during this floor-crossing period.
|
| +1
|1
|-
|bgcolor="#eeeeee"|
|style="text-align:left"|Alliance for Democracy and Prosperity
|
| +1
|1
|-
|
|
| +1
|1
|-
|bgcolor="#eeeeee"|
|style="text-align:left"|National Action
|
| +1
|1
|-
|bgcolor="#eeeeee"|
|style="text-align:left"|Peace and Justice Congress
|
| +1
|1
|-
|bgcolor="#eeeeee"|
|style="text-align:left"|Afrikaner Eenheidsbeweging
|1
| −1
|0
|-style="background:#e9e9e9;"
!colspan="2" style="text-align:left"|Total
!colspan="3" style="text-align:center"|400
|}
!colspan="2" style="text-align:left"|Party
!Seats before
!Net change
!Seats after
|-
|
|47
| +1
|49
|-
|
|9
| −2
|7
|-
|
|4
| +1
|5
|-
|
|2
| −1
|1
|-
|
|1
| 0
|1
|-style="background:#e9e9e9;"
!colspan="2" style="text-align:left"|Total
!colspan="3" style="text-align:center"|63
|}
!colspan="2" style="text-align:left"|Party
!Seats before
!Net change
!Seats after
|-
|
|50
| 0
|50
|-
|
|13
| −1
|12
|-
|
|3
| 0
|3
|-
|
|3
| 0
|3
|-
|
|1
| 0
|1
|-
|bgcolor="#eeeeee"|
|style="text-align:left"|Federal Alliance
|1
| 0
|1
|-
|
|1
| 0
|1
|-
|bgcolor="#eeeeee"|
|style="text-align:left"|Conservative Party
|
| +1
|1
|-
|
| +1
|1
|-
|
|1
| −1
|0
|-style="background:#e9e9e9;"
!colspan="2" style="text-align:left"|Total
!colspan="3" style="text-align:center"|73
|}
!colspan="2" style="text-align:left"|Party
!Seats before
!Net change
!Seats after
|-
|
|32
| +3
|35
|-
|
|34
| −2
|32
|-
|
|7
| −1
|6
|-
|
|3
| −1
|2
|-
|
|2
| 0
|2
|-
|
|1
| 0
|1
|-
|
|1
| 0
|1
|-
|bgcolor="#eeeeee"|
|style="text-align:left"|Peace and Development Party
|
| +1
|1
|-style="background:#e9e9e9;"
!colspan="2" style="text-align:left"|Total
!colspan="3" style="text-align:center"|80
|}
!colspan="2" style="text-align:left"|Party
!Seats before
!Net change
!Seats after
|-
|
|18
| +4
|22
|-
|
|17
| −7
|10
|-
|
|5
| +2
|7
|-
|
|1
| +1
|2
|-
|bgcolor="#eeeeee"|
|style="text-align:left"|New Labour Party
|
| +1
|1
|-
|
|1
| −1
|0
|-style="background:#e9e9e9;"
!colspan="2" style="text-align:left"|Total
!colspan="3" style="text-align:center"|42
|}
was reconstituted as a result of the changes in the provincial legislatures. Its reconstituted makeup was as follows:
|-style="background:#e9e9e9;"
!colspan="2" style="text-align:left"|Party
!style="text-align:left"|Delegate type
!EC
!FS
!G
!KZN
!M
!NW
!NC
!NP
!WC
!colspan=2|Total
|-
| style="width: 4px" bgcolor= rowspan=2|
| style="text-align: left;" scope="row" rowspan=2 |
|style="text-align:left"|Permanent
|4
|4
|4
|3
|5
|4
|4
|5
|3
|36
|rowspan=2|66
|-
|style="text-align:left"|Special
|4
|4
|3
|2
|4
|4
|3
|4
|2
|30
|-
| style="width: 4px" bgcolor= rowspan=2|
| style="text-align: left;" scope="row" rowspan=2 |
|style="text-align:left"|Permanent
|1
|1
|1
|1
|1
|1
|
|
|1
|7
|rowspan=2|9
|-
|style="text-align:left"|Special
|
|
|1
|
|
|
|
|
|1
|2
|-
| style="width: 4px" bgcolor= rowspan=2|
| style="text-align: left;" scope="row" rowspan=2 |
|style="text-align:left"|Permanent
|
|1
|1
|
|
|
|2
|
|1
|5
|rowspan=2|7
|-
|style="text-align:left"|Special
|
|
|
|
|
|
|1
|
|1
|2
|-
| style="width: 4px" bgcolor= rowspan=2|
| style="text-align: left;" scope="row" rowspan=2 |
|style="text-align:left"|Permanent
|
|
|
|2
|
|
|
|
|
|2
|rowspan=2|4
|-
|style="text-align:left"|Special
|
|
|
|2
|
|
|
|
|
|2
|-
|
|style="text-align:left"|Permanent
|1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|1
|
|colspan=2|2
|-
|
|style="text-align:left"|Permanent
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|1
|colspan=2|1
|-
|
|style="text-align:left"|Permanent
|
|
|
|
|
|1
|
|
|
|colspan=2|1
|-style="background:#e9e9e9;"
!colspan="3" style="text-align:left"|Total
!10
!10
!10
!10
!10
!10
!10
!10
!10
!colspan=2|90
|}
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
was a period of 15 days, from 21 March to 4 April 2003, in which members of the National Assembly and the provincial legislature
Provincial legislature (South Africa)
In South Africa, a provincial legislature is the legislative branch of the government of a province. The provincial legislatures are unicameral and vary in size from 30 to 80 members depending on the population of the province...
s were able to cross the floor from one political party to another without giving up their seats. The period was authorised by the passage of the Tenth Amendment
Tenth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa
The Tenth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa altered the provisions relating to membership of the National Assembly and the provincial legislatures, to allow members of those bodies to cross the floor at certain times without losing their seats...
of the Constitution of South Africa
Constitution of South Africa
The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the country of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the government. The current constitution, the country's fifth, was...
. The amendment scheduled regular window periods in the second and fourth September after each election, but the second and fourth Septembers after the 1999 election had already passed, so it included provision for a special window period starting fifteen days after the amendment came into effect.
In the National Assembly, the floor-crossing expanded the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
' (ANC) representation from 266 seats, one short of the two-thirds majority needed to amend the constitution, to 275 seats. In the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature, the Inkatha Freedom Party
Inkatha Freedom Party
The Inkatha Freedom Party is a political party in South Africa. Since its founding, it has been led by Mangosuthu Buthelezi. It is currently the fourth largest party in the National Assembly of South Africa.-History:...
(IFP) and the ANC were before the window period the largest and second-largest parties respectively. As a result of the floor-crossing, they changed places; however, the ANC did not attain an absolute majority, holding 35 seats of 80. In the Western Cape Provincial Parliament
Western Cape Provincial Parliament
The Western Cape Provincial Parliament is the legislature of the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is located in the Provincial Government Building at 7 Wale Street, Cape Town....
the ANC expanded its representation to an absolute majority, growing from 18 to 22 seats of a total 42.
During this window period representatives of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (South Africa)
The Democratic Party was the name of the South African political party now called the Democratic Alliance . Although the Democratic Party name dates from 1989, the party existed under other labels throughout the Apartheid years, when it was the Parliamentary opposition to the ruling National...
(DP) officially became representatives of the Democratic Alliance (DA). Amongst a group of new parties created by floor-crossing, the most significant was the Independent Democrats, who gained one member in the National Assembly and one in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.
The tables below show all the changes; in those provinces not listed there was no change in the provincial legislature, other than the DP becoming the DA.
National Assembly
|-style="background:#e9e9e9;"!colspan="2" style="text-align:left"|Party
!Seats before
!Net change
!Seats after
|-
|
|266
| +9
|275
|-
|Democratic Party
Democratic Party (South Africa)
The Democratic Party was the name of the South African political party now called the Democratic Alliance . Although the Democratic Party name dates from 1989, the party existed under other labels throughout the Apartheid years, when it was the Parliamentary opposition to the ruling National...
representatives officially became Democratic Alliance representatives during this floor-crossing period.
|38
| +8
|46
|-
|
|34
| −3
|31
|-
|
|28
| −8
|20
|-
|
|6
| +1
|7
|-
|
|14
| −10
|4
|-
|
|3
| 0
|3
|-
|
|3
| 0
|3
|-
|
|3
| −1
|2
|-
|bgcolor="#eeeeee"|
|style="text-align:left"|Federal Alliance
Federal Alliance (South Africa)
The Federal Alliance was a small South African political party that contested the South African general election in 1999. The party was led by business magnate Louis Luyt, and founded in 1998....
|2
| 0
|2
|-
|
|1
| 0
|1
|-
|
|1
| 0
|1
|-
|bgcolor="#eeeeee"|
|style="text-align:left"|African Independent MovementParty created during this floor-crossing period.
|
| +1
|1
|-
|bgcolor="#eeeeee"|
|style="text-align:left"|Alliance for Democracy and Prosperity
|
| +1
|1
|-
|
|
| +1
|1
|-
|bgcolor="#eeeeee"|
|style="text-align:left"|National Action
National Action (South Africa)
The National Action , was a short-lived South African political party formed by Cassie Aucamp when he left the Afrikaner Eenheids Beweging in the 2003 floor-crossing window...
|
| +1
|1
|-
|bgcolor="#eeeeee"|
|style="text-align:left"|Peace and Justice Congress
Peace and Justice Congress
The Peace and Justice Congress is a South African political party, on the ballots of the Free State and Western Cape provinces for the South African 2009 provincial elections.Rashad Khan, a human-rights lawyer is a leader of the party....
|
| +1
|1
|-
|bgcolor="#eeeeee"|
|style="text-align:left"|Afrikaner Eenheidsbeweging
|1
| −1
|0
|-style="background:#e9e9e9;"
!colspan="2" style="text-align:left"|Total
!colspan="3" style="text-align:center"|400
|}
Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature
|-style="background:#e9e9e9;"!colspan="2" style="text-align:left"|Party
!Seats before
!Net change
!Seats after
|-
|
|47
| +1
|49
|-
|
|9
| −2
|7
|-
|
|4
| +1
|5
|-
|
|2
| −1
|1
|-
|
|1
| 0
|1
|-style="background:#e9e9e9;"
!colspan="2" style="text-align:left"|Total
!colspan="3" style="text-align:center"|63
|}
Gauteng Provincial Legislature
|-style="background:#e9e9e9;"!colspan="2" style="text-align:left"|Party
!Seats before
!Net change
!Seats after
|-
|
|50
| 0
|50
|-
|
|13
| −1
|12
|-
|
|3
| 0
|3
|-
|
|3
| 0
|3
|-
|
|1
| 0
|1
|-
|bgcolor="#eeeeee"|
|style="text-align:left"|Federal Alliance
Federal Alliance (South Africa)
The Federal Alliance was a small South African political party that contested the South African general election in 1999. The party was led by business magnate Louis Luyt, and founded in 1998....
|1
| 0
|1
|-
|
|1
| 0
|1
|-
|bgcolor="#eeeeee"|
|style="text-align:left"|Conservative Party
Conservative Party (South Africa)
The Conservative Party of South Africa was a conservative party formed in 1982 as a breakaway from the ruling National Party...
|
| +1
|1
|-
|
| +1
|1
|-
|
|1
| −1
|0
|-style="background:#e9e9e9;"
!colspan="2" style="text-align:left"|Total
!colspan="3" style="text-align:center"|73
|}
KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature
|-style="background:#e9e9e9;"!colspan="2" style="text-align:left"|Party
!Seats before
!Net change
!Seats after
|-
|
|32
| +3
|35
|-
|
|34
| −2
|32
|-
|
|7
| −1
|6
|-
|
|3
| −1
|2
|-
|
|2
| 0
|2
|-
|
|1
| 0
|1
|-
|
|1
| 0
|1
|-
|bgcolor="#eeeeee"|
|style="text-align:left"|Peace and Development Party
|
| +1
|1
|-style="background:#e9e9e9;"
!colspan="2" style="text-align:left"|Total
!colspan="3" style="text-align:center"|80
|}
Western Cape Provincial Parliament
|-style="background:#e9e9e9;"!colspan="2" style="text-align:left"|Party
!Seats before
!Net change
!Seats after
|-
|
|18
| +4
|22
|-
|
|17
| −7
|10
|-
|
|5
| +2
|7
|-
|
|1
| +1
|2
|-
|bgcolor="#eeeeee"|
|style="text-align:left"|New Labour Party
New Labour Party (South Africa)
The New Labour Party was a minor South African political party founded by Peter Marais via floor crossing legislation after he left the New National Party in some disrepute. The name was chosen to evoke the former Labour Party led by the late Reverend Allan Hendrickse as an anti-apartheid Coloured...
|
| +1
|1
|-
|
|1
| −1
|0
|-style="background:#e9e9e9;"
!colspan="2" style="text-align:left"|Total
!colspan="3" style="text-align:center"|42
|}
National Council of Provinces
The National Council of ProvincesNational Council of Provinces
The National Council of Provinces is the upper house of the Parliament of South Africa under the constitution which came into full effect in 1997...
was reconstituted as a result of the changes in the provincial legislatures. Its reconstituted makeup was as follows:
|-style="background:#e9e9e9;"
!colspan="2" style="text-align:left"|Party
!style="text-align:left"|Delegate type
!EC
Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are Port Elizabeth and East London. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" Xhosa homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province...
!FS
Free State
The Free State is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Orange Free State Boer republic and later Orange Free State Province. The current borders of the province date from 1994 when the Bantustans...
!G
Gauteng
Gauteng is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. It was formed from part of the old Transvaal Province after South Africa's first all-race elections on 27 April 1994...
!KZN
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....
!M
Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga , is a province of South Africa. The name means east or literally "the place where the sun rises" in Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, north of KwaZulu-Natal and bordering Swaziland and Mozambique. It constitutes 6.5% of South Africa's land area...
!NW
North West (South African province)
North West is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Mafikeng. The province is located to the west of the major population centre of Gauteng.-History:...
!NC
Northern Cape
The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of an international park shared with Botswana...
!NP
!WC
Western Cape
The Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the much larger Cape Province...
!colspan=2|Total
|-
| style="width: 4px" bgcolor= rowspan=2|
| style="text-align: left;" scope="row" rowspan=2 |
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
|style="text-align:left"|Permanent
|4
|4
|4
|3
|5
|4
|4
|5
|3
|36
|rowspan=2|66
|-
|style="text-align:left"|Special
|4
|4
|3
|2
|4
|4
|3
|4
|2
|30
|-
| style="width: 4px" bgcolor= rowspan=2|
| style="text-align: left;" scope="row" rowspan=2 |
|style="text-align:left"|Permanent
|1
|1
|1
|1
|1
|1
|
|
|1
|7
|rowspan=2|9
|-
|style="text-align:left"|Special
|
|
|1
|
|
|
|
|
|1
|2
|-
| style="width: 4px" bgcolor= rowspan=2|
| style="text-align: left;" scope="row" rowspan=2 |
|style="text-align:left"|Permanent
|
|1
|1
|
|
|
|2
|
|1
|5
|rowspan=2|7
|-
|style="text-align:left"|Special
|
|
|
|
|
|
|1
|
|1
|2
|-
| style="width: 4px" bgcolor= rowspan=2|
| style="text-align: left;" scope="row" rowspan=2 |
Inkatha Freedom Party
The Inkatha Freedom Party is a political party in South Africa. Since its founding, it has been led by Mangosuthu Buthelezi. It is currently the fourth largest party in the National Assembly of South Africa.-History:...
|style="text-align:left"|Permanent
|
|
|
|2
|
|
|
|
|
|2
|rowspan=2|4
|-
|style="text-align:left"|Special
|
|
|
|2
|
|
|
|
|
|2
|-
|
|style="text-align:left"|Permanent
|1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|1
|
|colspan=2|2
|-
|
|style="text-align:left"|Permanent
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|1
|colspan=2|1
|-
|
|style="text-align:left"|Permanent
|
|
|
|
|
|1
|
|
|
|colspan=2|1
|-style="background:#e9e9e9;"
!colspan="3" style="text-align:left"|Total
!10
!10
!10
!10
!10
!10
!10
!10
!10
!colspan=2|90
|}
See also
- Floor crossing (South Africa)Floor crossing (South Africa)Floor crossing in South Africa was a controversial system under which Members of Parliament, Members of Provincial Legislatures and Local Government councillors could change political party and take their seats with them when they did so...
- 2005 South African floor-crossing window period2005 South African floor-crossing window periodThe 2005 floor crossing window period in South Africa was a period of 15 days, from 1 to 15 September 2005, in which members of the National Assembly and the provincial legislatures were able to cross the floor from one political party to another without giving up their seats...
- 2007 South African floor-crossing window period