List of members of the 6th Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature
| 6th Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
| Overview | |||||
| Legislative body | Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature | ||||
| Jurisdiction | Eastern Cape, South Africa | ||||
| Term | 22 May 2019 – 28 May 2024 | ||||
| Election | 8 May 2019 | ||||
| Government | Executive Council of Oscar Mabuyane | ||||
| Members | 63 | ||||
| Speaker | Helen Sauls-August | ||||
| Deputy Speaker | Mlibo Qoboshiyane | ||||
| Premier | Oscar Mabuyane | ||||
| Leader of the Opposition | Bobby Stevenson (since 2023) | ||||
| Party control | African National Congress | ||||
This is a list of members of the sixth Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature as elected in the election of 8 May 2019 and taking into account changes in membership since the election.[1] Pursuant to the 2019 election, the African National Congress (ANC) retained its comfortable majority in the legislature, winning 44 of 63 seats. During the legislature's first sitting on 22 May 2019, Oscar Mabuyane of the ANC was elected as Premier of the Eastern Cape.
The Democratic Alliance (DA), with 10 seats, retained its status as the official opposition in the legislature. Also represented are the Economic Freedom Fighters, with five seats; the United Democratic Movement (UDM), with two seats; and the African Transformation Movement (ATM) and Freedom Front Plus (FF+) with one seat apiece. The Congress of the People and the African Independent Congress both lost their representation in the legislature, failing to win any seats in the 2019 election. The legislature dissolved on 28 May 2024, the day before the 2024 provincial election.[2]
Composition
[edit]This is a graphical comparison of party strengths as they stand in the sixth Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature.
- Note this is not the official seating plan of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature.
| Party | Seats | |
|---|---|---|
| African National Congress | 44 | |
| DA | 10 | |
| Economic Freedom Fighters | 5 | |
| United Democratic Movement | 2 | |
| African Transformation Movement | 1 | |
| Freedom Front Plus | 1 | |
| Total | 63 | |
Members
[edit]Former members
[edit]There were several mid-term changes to the composition of the ANC caucus. Nomvula Ponco, ranked 45th on the ANC's party list, was sworn in shortly after the election in June 2019,[3] after initially failing to gain a seat.[4] In August 2019, Kesava Pillai Anilkumar filled the vacancy created by the death of Ncediwe Nobevu-Booi in July,[5] and in August 2022, Zolile Williams was sworn in to replace Babalo Madikizela, who resigned.[6]
On the opposition benches, Democratic Alliance provincial leader Nqaba Bhanga resigned from the legislature in March 2020 to serve as Mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay; his seat was filled by Kobus Botha.[7] Bhanga returned to the legislature in December 2021, succeeding Botha.[8] In August 2022, Retief Odendaal resigned, also to serve as Mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay and was replaced by Kobus Botha.[9][10][11] Edmund van Vuuren resigned from the provincial legislature in April 2023, and his seat was taken up by former Kouga mayor Horatio Hendricks.[12] The Freedom Front's sole representative in the legislature, Theo Coetzee, died in January 2023[13] and was replaced by Jaco Burger the following month.[14] Also in February 2023, Simthembile Madikizela and Zilindile Vena were sworn in to the legislature to represent the Economic Freedom Fighters, filling vacancies occasioned by the resignations of Mlamli Makhetha and Yazini Tetyana.[14]
In December 2023, former DA provincial leader Nqaba Bhanga's party membership was terminated; Leander Kruger was appointed to take up his seat.[15]
References
[edit]- ^ List of MPLs. Retrieved on 27 June 2019.
- ^ "Positive feedback as sixth term of provincial legislature comes to end". HeraldLIVE. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
- ^ "Alice Nomvula Ponco". People's Assembly. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
- ^ "19 party hopefuls at bottom of ANC's Bhisho MPL list left out in the cold". Dispatch. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
- ^ Maliti, Soyiso (2 September 2019). "Education veteran sworn in as MPL". DailyDispatch. Retrieved 17 September 2020 – via PressReader.
- ^ Isaac, Johnnie (2022-08-15). "Williams takes seat in legislature following Madikizela's exit". Sunday World. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
- ^ "DA's Bhanga resigns as MPL to clear way for him to stand for mayor". Daily Dispatch. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
- ^ "Former Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Nqaba Bhanga sworn in as MPL". Herald. 9 December 2021. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
- ^ "DA's Odendaal leaves Bhisho to become Bay councillor". Herald. 4 August 2022. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
- ^ "Retief Odendaal takes up position on NMB Council". My Gqeberha. 2022-08-04. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
- ^ "DA's Odendaal takes up position on NMB Council". Democratic Alliance - Eastern Cape. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
- ^ Plaatjies, Razaan. "Former Kouga mayor Hendricks to take up position in EC Legislature". News24. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
- ^ "Tributes pour in from across political spectrum for late FF+ MPL". Daily Dispatch. 12 January 2023. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
- ^ a b "Bhisho legislature welcomes three new MPLs". Daily Dispatch. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
- ^ admin (2023-12-13). "Leander Kruger sworn in as newest DA member of Eastern Cape Legislature". DA Bhisho - The Democratic Alliance at the Bhisho Legislature. Retrieved 2024-01-22.