77-478: The National Council of Provinces ( NCOP ) is the upper house of the Parliament of South Africa under the (post- apartheid ) constitution which came into full effect in 1997. It replaced the former Senate , but is very similar to that body, and to many other upper houses of legislatures throughout the world, in that its purpose is to represent the governments of the provinces , rather than directly representing
154-490: A "house of review" chamber; for this reason, its powers of direct action are often reduced in some way. Some or all of the following restrictions are often placed on upper houses: In parliamentary democracies and among European upper houses the Italian Senate is a notable exception to these general rules, in that it has the same powers as its lower counterpart: any law can be initiated in either house and must be approved in
231-512: A "party for all the people" and not decline into a "shrinking, irrelevant minority." In the 2009 South African general election , the DA won an overall majority in the Western Cape, and Zille became the new provincial premier . In her newsletter, she wrote that "winning power in the Western Cape will allow us to show what co-operative governance between local authorities and a province can achieve." In
308-433: A DA government would manage the economy and facilitate growth. The majority of the interventions suggested by the party are aimed at creating an atmosphere conducive to job creation and greater foreign direct investment. The DA has suggested measures to make South Africa's labour market more amenable to job creation. The party has also suggested several targeted interventions to allow for higher employment, especially amongst
385-399: A Directorate for Victims of Crime, which would provide funding and support for crime victims. In addition, the party announced its support for a prison labour programme, which would put prisoners to work in various community upliftment programmes. The proposal was criticised by labour unions, who believed it was unethical and would result in labour job losses. In late 2008–2009, the DA took
462-813: A Legislative Council prior to joining Canada , as did Ontario when it was Upper Canada and Quebec from 1791 (as Lower Canada ) to 1968. Nebraska is the only state in the United States with a unicameral legislature, having abolished its lower house in 1934, while the Senate of Nebraska , the upper house prior to 1934, continues to assemble. The Australian state of Queensland also once had an appointed Legislative Council before abolishing it in 1922. All other Australian states continue to have bicameral systems, though all members are now directly elected (the two self-governing territories, along with Norfolk Island until 2016, have always been unicameral). Like Queensland,
539-462: A bill so that it does not fit within the legislative schedule, or until a general election produces a new lower house that no longer wishes to proceed with the bill. Nevertheless, some states have long retained powerful upper houses. For example, the consent of the upper house to legislation may be necessary (though, as noted above, this seldom extends to budgetary measures). Constitutional arrangements of states with powerful upper houses usually include
616-688: A broader group of black South Africans an opportunity to compete and partake in the economy. The party advocates an active industrial policy that allows the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) to co-ordinate industrial policy. Additionally it would also set up a sovereign venture capital fund to help support innovation in key industries. The DA also supports the creation of Industrial Development Zones and Export Processing Zones. The party suggests that by relaxing certain regulations in these zones, manufacturers and exporters would be able to grow faster and employ more people. This fits into
693-417: A certain amount of media attention, much of it somewhat sceptical. The ANC issued a detailed critique of the campaign, focusing especially on Suzman's role in the apartheid parliament. Partially on the basis of this campaign the DA contested the 2014 general election , where it once again grew its support base but failed in its stated goal of winning Gauteng province. In the municipal elections of 2016 ,
770-431: A core minimum of resources for each school, proper state school nutrition schemes for grade 1–12 learners, and measures to train 30,000 additional teachers per year. The DA continues to support the introduction of new performance targets for teachers and schools, and also advocates a per-child wage subsidy, and a national network of community-based early childhood education centres. The DA's "Quality Care for All" programme
847-559: A formula included in the Constitution. The permanent delegates are selected by the nine provincial legislatures. The four special delegates include the Premier of the province and three other delegates. They are nominated by each province from the members of the provincial legislature and are contingent on the subject matter being considered by the NCOP. The premier leads the province's delegation in
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#1732847591975924-407: A means to resolve situations where the two houses are at odds with each other. In recent times, parliamentary systems have tended to weaken the powers of upper houses relative to their lower counterparts. Some upper houses have been fully abolished; others have had their powers reduced by constitutional or legislative amendments. Also, conventions often exist that the upper house ought not to obstruct
1001-525: A mix of high spending on crucial social services such as education and health care, a basic income grant, and a strong regulatory framework, with more "moderate" policies such as a lower budget deficit and a deregulated labour market. At her 2009 State of the Province speech, party leader Zille described her party's economic policy as pragmatic: "We believe the state has a crucial role to play in socio-economic development. We are not free market fundamentalists. By
1078-610: A proposed scrapping of value added tax (VAT) on books and tax rebates for crime prevention expenditure by businesses. The DA supports an inflation-targeting monetary policy regime similar to that of the ANC government. It has also repeatedly reaffirmed its support and commitment for reserve bank instrument independence. The DA proposes to incentivise savings by reducing taxes on income earned from fixed deposits that are held for longer than twelve months. The party states that this would help South Africa to boost its domestic savings rate to enable
1155-560: A stand against the South African Police Service 's VIP Protection Unit , after several officers in the unit were charged with serious criminal offences. The party later released documentation of the unit's poor disciplinary record, and claimed its divisional commander had himself dodged serious criminal charges. The DA strongly opposed the disbandment of the Scorpions crime investigation unit, and similar efforts to centralise
1232-696: A strong supporter of Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War . South Africa, a member of the BRICS alliance, has remained neutral throughout the Russian invasion of Ukraine , but the DA (including DA-controlled legislatures and councils) supports Ukraine and has criticised South Africa's ambiguous position, though the ANC has denied supporting Russia and insists that it is neutral. Steenhuisen visited Ukraine in 2022 in solidarity. The party has also called for Russian President Vladimir Putin to be arrested . Unlike
1309-578: Is Safiyia Stanfley. According to the DAWN constitution: DAWN will: Each province has a provincial DAWN chairperson. The provincial chairpersons are as follows: The DA Abroad is the Democratic Alliance's supporters network for South Africans who live outside the South African border. The DA Abroad aims to grow the DA's overseas voter base, actively lobby for international awareness and influence for
1386-711: Is broadly centrist , and has been attributed both centre-left and centre-right policies. It is a member of Liberal International and the Africa Liberal Network . The DA traces its roots to the founding of the anti-apartheid Progressive Party in 1959, with many mergers and name changes between that time and the present. The DA has a variety of ideologically liberal tendencies, including neoliberalism , social liberalism , classical liberalism , and conservative liberalism . The party draws its support predominantly from Afrikaans and English speakers, people aged over 35, and white South Africans , as well as
1463-493: Is focused on tackling the country's high HIV/AIDS infection rate . Included in these plans is an increase in the number of clinics offering HIV testing and measures to provide all HIV-positive women with Nevirapine . The party's health policy also plans to devote more resources to vaccinations against common childhood illnesses. The party also advocates creating a transparent and competitive health sector, to boost service delivery and encourage health care practitioners to remain in
1540-472: Is not present at the sittings, the deputy chairperson or House Chairpersons can preside over the sitting of the chamber. The current chairperson is Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane who took office on 15 June 2024. The following people have served as chairperson of the NCOP: The chairperson of the committees is appointed by the members of the legislature. The position holds the following roles, including presiding over
1617-628: Is sometimes seen as having a special role of safeguarding the uncodified Constitution of the United Kingdom and important civil liberties against ill-considered change. The House of Lords has a number of ways to block legislation and to reject it; however, the House of Commons can eventually use the Parliament Act to force something through. The Commons will often accept amendments passed by the Lords; however,
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#17328475919751694-623: Is the British House of Lords . Under the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 , the House of Lords can no longer prevent the passage of most bills, but it must be given an opportunity to debate them and propose amendments, and can thereby delay the passage of a bill with which it disagrees. Bills can only be delayed for up to one year before the Commons can use the Parliament Act, although economic bills can only be delayed for one month. The House of Lords
1771-418: The 2009 general election . Although the Democratic Alliance in its present form is fairly new, its roots can be traced far back in South African political history, through a complex sequence of splits and mergers. The modern day DA is in large part a product of the white parliamentary opposition to the ruling National Party . The origin of the party can be traced to the mid-1950s when some younger members of
1848-468: The 2011 local government elections , the party won control of most of the municipalities in the Western Cape. In 2013, the DA launched the "Know Your DA" campaign, in an attempt to try to show that the DA (via its proxy predecessor organisations) was involved in the struggle against apartheid. This campaign focused mainly on the role played by a few key individuals in opposing apartheid – particularly Helen Suzman and Helen Zille. The campaign received
1925-608: The Democratic Party (DP), a name that was retained into the 1990s when freedom was achieved. It was marginalised by the National Party's shift towards the center after 1990, and fared relatively poorly in the first democratic election in 1994 , won by the African National Congress. The DP established itself as a more effective party of opposition, however, and eventually rose from relative obscurity and ascended to
2002-507: The German state of Bavaria had an appointed second chamber, the Senate of Bavaria , from 1946 to 1999. The Senate of the Philippines was abolished – and restored – twice: from 1935 to 1945 when a unicameral National Assembly convened, and from 1972 to 1987 when Congress was closed, and later a new constitution was approved instituting a unicameral Parliament. The Senate was re-instituted with
2079-582: The Indian and Coloured communities. The current leader of the party is John Steenhuisen , who was announced as the new leader on 1 November 2020 after the party's Federal Congress . He had previously acted as the interim leader of the party from November 2019 to November 2020. Helen Zille is chairperson of both the Federal Council and the Federal Executive, the highest decision-making structures of
2156-565: The Progressive Federal Party . The Progressives sought to change the system from within, but in doing so chose to comply with Apartheid legislation outlawing multi-racial membership. During this time, the party was led by liberal-minded opponents of Apartheid, such as Jan Steytler, Helen Suzman , Zach de Beer , Colin Eglin , Frederik van Zyl Slabbert and Harry Schwarz . In 1989, it merged with two smaller reformist organisations to become
2233-580: The United Party felt that they were not providing strong enough opposition to the National Party and its policy of Apartheid , causing them to break away and form the Progressive Party in 1959. In the 1970s, as it rose to become the official opposition, the party merged with more splinters from the disintegrating United Party and become known first as the Progressive Reform Party and then as
2310-637: The ANC, which outspokenly declared its support for Palestine and refused to condemn Hamas for its attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023 , the DA, along with other members of the Multi-Party Charter , specifically condemned Hamas for its attacks on Israel . However, the DA, like the ANC, supports a two state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict , seeking peaceful resolution between the two, and for Palestine to be free, saying "the people of Palestine are not defined by Hamas". These charts show
2387-548: The ANC. To this end, the DP reached a merger agreement with the NNP and the much smaller Federal Alliance (FA) in 2000. Together, they formed the Democratic Alliance. The merger was ultimately aborted, with both the NNP and FA leaving the DA. Many former NNP members remained, and the new name was kept. The DP was disbanded after the 2003 floor crossing period, establishing the DA at all levels of government. The party consolidated its status as
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2464-676: The British House of Lords until 1999 and in the Japanese House of Peers until it was abolished in 1947. It is also common that the upper house consists of delegates chosen by state governments or local officials. Members of the Rajya Sabha in India are nominated by various states and union territories, while 12 of them are nominated by the President of India. Similarly, at the state level, one-third of
2541-458: The Chief Whip of the majority party and the Chief Whip of the largest opposition party. The smaller parties have Senior Whips assisted by a number of whips. The Chief Whips are formally appointed by the chairperson. The Chief Whip of the majority party is responsible for the detailed arrangement of the legislative business. The position is designated to the leader of the largest opposition party in
2618-415: The DA believes that the role of the government is to provide every citizen with a minimum basic standard of quality services and resources with which to be able to do so – a framework for choice." The DA therefore advocates a mixed-economy approach, where the state is involved in the economy only to the extent that it can expand opportunity and choice. The manifesto includes various proposals detailing how
2695-459: The DA made significant gains along with other opposition parties in some of the country's most important metropolitan areas. The DA currently governs Tshwane (including Pretoria , the administrative capital), Cape Town (South Africa's second-largest city and legislative capital) and various other municipalities. In the general elections of 2019 , the DA's national support declined for the first time in its history. The party retained control of
2772-575: The Gauteng Provincial Congress the same year. It consists of Pogiso Mthimunye (chairperson), Patrick Oberholster (deputy chairperson), Khathutshelo Rasilingwane (Recruitment and Campaigns) and Prudence Mollo (Training and Development). In the North West Province of South Africa, Emi Koekemoer is the elected Provincial Chairperson while Henning Lubbe takes the role as Provincial Deputy Chairperson of Administration, Quinton Booysen fills
2849-439: The NCOP took place on 15 June 2024. The delegations elected are described in the following table. The NCOP may consider, amend, propose amendments to, or reject the legislation. It must consider all national bills , and also has the power to initiate legislation in the functional areas where Parliament and the provincial legislatures have concurrent legislative power. The NCOP has four decision-making mechanisms depending on
2926-423: The NCOP, but they can choose any of the other delegates to head the delegation in their absence. The South African Local Government Association (SALGA) is also part of the NCOP. SALGA has 10 delegates who may partake in the debates and other activities, but they do not vote. After the elections of 29 May 2024, the new provincial legislatures met on 13 and 14 June 2024 to elect NCOP delegations. The first sitting of
3003-572: The Nation" proposed new measures to increase energy efficiency, and the introduction of sectoral carbon emission targets. The DA broadly supports reforms recommended by Frederik van Zyl Slabbert 's electoral reform task-team, that would see the current party list voting system replaced by a 75% constituency-based/25% proportional representation -based electoral system that would apply at the national and provincial level. The DA's governance policy Promoting Open Opportunity Governance also makes provision for
3080-510: The Weatherill Amendment to the House of Lords Act 1999 , which preserved 92 hereditary peers in the house. Compromise and negotiation between the two houses make the Parliament Act a very rarely used backup plan. Even without a veto, an upper house may defeat legislation. Its opposition may give the lower chamber a chance to reconsider or even abandon a controversial measure. It can also delay
3157-567: The Western Cape but with a reduced majority and failed to win Gauteng once again. The conservative Freedom Front Plus (FF+) made significant gains on the DA in the Afrikaner community. In the aftermath of the election, the FF+ continued to make inroads in former DA strongholds. In the run-up to the 2024 general election , the DA joined the Multi-Party Charter , an electoral alliance taking advantage of
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3234-518: The abolition, while the centrist Fianna Fáil was alone among major parties in supporting the retention of the Seanad. Democratic Alliance (South Africa) The Democratic Alliance ( DA ) is a South African political party which is a part of the current South African Government of National Unity (GNU). The party has been the second-largest in South Africa since its foundation in 2000. The party
3311-449: The business of government for frivolous or merely partisan reasons. These conventions have tended to harden with a passage of time. In presidential systems, the upper house is frequently given other powers to compensate for its restrictions: There are a variety of ways an upper house's members are assembled: by direct or indirect election, appointment or a mixture of these. Many upper houses are not directly elected but appointed: either by
3388-568: The country to invest in projects that will provide additional job opportunities. The party has rejected the ANC's approach to Black Economic Empowerment , with former party leader Helen Zille arguing that the current policies have only served to enrich a small elite of politically connected businessmen. The party proposed an alternative it calls broad-based economic empowerment, which would provide for targeted interventions focusing on skills training and socio-economic investment instead of ownership targets. The party believes that this approach will give
3465-493: The country. The DA's economic policy aims to create a society in which all South Africans enjoy both the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, and the opportunities to take advantage of those freedoms. In its 2010 Federal Congress booklet, The Open Opportunity Society for All , the party describes this society in the following terms: "Opportunity is the vehicle with which people are empowered to live their lives, pursue their dreams and develop their full potential. And
3542-409: The delivery of 91 000 title deeds in the province and allowing residents to have full title deeds to their homes. In the build up to the 2009 elections, the DA announced it would create a new Ministry of Energy and Climate Change, to ensure improved integrated energy planning in order to deal with South Africa's growing carbon dioxide emissions. The DA's 2009 environment and energy plan, "In Trust for
3619-427: The direct election of the president, which would give voters a more direct link to the executive branch. The DA believe voting rights should be extended to include all South African citizens who are living and working abroad, many of whom intend returning. Since 2013, South Africans living abroad can now register and vote in national elections. The DA holds a generally pro-Western foreign policy. The DA has been
3696-505: The electoral performance for the Democratic Alliance, and its predecessor the Democratic Party, since the advent of democracy in 1994: The Democratic Alliance Youth (DA Youth), which came officially into being in late 2008, was first led by Makashule Gana until 2013, Mbali Ntuli led between 2013 and 2014, Yusuf Cassim led from 2014 to 2018 and Luyolo Mphithi led from 2018 to 2022. The current Interim Federal Leader, Nicholas Nyati,
3773-469: The executive mayor of Cape Town, then succeeded Leon as DA Party Leader in May 2007. In 2008, she re-launched the party as one that no longer acts solely as an opposition but also as an alternative choice for government. The party also introduced a new logo and a new slogan. Zille said the new DA would be "more reflective of our rich racial, linguistic and cultural heritage," and emphasized that she wanted it to be
3850-535: The head of state, by the head of government or in some other way. This is usually intended to produce a house of experts or otherwise distinguished citizens, who would not necessarily be returned in an election. For example, members of the Senate of Canada are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister. In the past, some upper houses had seats that were entirely hereditary, such as in
3927-535: The land. The party says that it is committed to ensuring that those entitled to land receive it in the form of direct ownership, and not as lifelong tenants. The DA's "Land of Opportunity" programme supports the "willing buyer, willing seller" principle, though it also allows for expropriation for reform purposes in certain limited circumstances. The party has been critical of the resources that government has allocated to land reform, claiming that government has not been sufficiently active in buying up land that comes onto
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#17328475919754004-611: The legal guardians of children living in poverty to ensure that their child attends 85 per cent of school classes, and undergoes routine health check-ups. In addition, to aid with youth development skills, the party proposed a R6000 opportunity voucher or twelve month community service programme to all high school matriculants. The party also supports a universal old age pension, and the abolishment of pension means tests. The DA's education programme, "Preparing for Success", focuses on providing adequate physical and human resources to underperforming schools. The DA supports guaranteed access to
4081-568: The legislature. Cathlene Labuschagne of the Democratic Alliance has been serving as Leader of the Opposition since her election in September 2016. Upper house An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature , the other chamber being the lower house . The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted power than
4158-399: The lower house. A legislature composed of only one house (and which therefore has neither an upper house nor a lower house) is described as unicameral . An upper house is usually different from the lower house in at least one of the following respects (though they vary among jurisdictions): Powers: Status: In parliamentary systems the upper house is frequently seen as an advisory or
4235-705: The market. Though the DA believes this could speed up the pace of land reform, their policies have been vocally criticised by members of the Tripartite Alliance. Land Affairs Minister Thoko Didiza accused the DA of attempting to "stifle" land reform, while the South African Communist Party contended that the DA's policies overly favoured big business. In a speech at the DA's national congress in April 2018, DA Leader, Mmusi Maimane, praised DA Western Cape Provincial Leader, Bonginkosi Madikizela, for overseeing
4312-438: The meeting of the committee of chairpersons, approve the budget and expenditures of the committees and to preside over sittings of the House, when requested or when the chairperson and deputy chairperson are not available. Whips represent their individual parties' interests and ensure the discipline of their members. They also ensure that their parties function effectively. There are two Chief Whips who are official office bearers,
4389-546: The members of the State Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) are nominated by local governments, one-third by sitting legislators, and the rest are elected by select members of the electorate. The United States Senate was chosen by state legislatures until the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913. The upper house may be directly elected but in different proportions to the lower house - for example,
4466-399: The official opposition in the 2004 general election , while the NNP collapsed. Having gone into opposition in the Western Cape in 2001 when the NNP formed a new coalition with the ANC, the demise of the NNP made the province a natural target for the party. In the 2006 municipal elections , the DA narrowly gained control of its largest city, Cape Town , in a multi-party coalition. Helen Zille,
4543-519: The other elections that takes place in the chamber. The legislative body also elects a permanent deputy chairperson. A second deputy chairperson is elected for a one-year term. The position rotates between the nine provinces, enabling the provinces to have its members elected second deputy chairpersos., The chairperson chairs all the sittings of the National Council of the Provinces. If the chairperson
4620-461: The party's broader vision of growing the economy by cutting red tape and regulations it claims is holding back South Africa's economic growth. The DA has been against the introduction of a national minimum wage , arguing that workers should be allowed to accept a wage of less than R3500 on their own terms. In contrast, President Cyril Ramaphosa stated that the R3500 per month (R20 an hour) minimum wage
4697-570: The party. In aftermath of the 2024 general election , the DA entered into a ruling grand coalition with the African National Congress (ANC) and various other parties, called a government of national unity , formed between ten parties with jointly 287 seats in the House of Assembly (72%). The DA also governs several major metropolitan municipalities and has governed the Western Cape , one of South Africa's nine provinces, since
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#17328475919754774-422: The people. The NCOP consists of ninety delegates, ten delegates for each of the nine provinces regardless of the population of the province. Each province is equally represented in the NCOP. A provincial delegation is composed of six permanent delegates and four special delegates. The party representation in the delegation must proportionally reflect the party representation in the provincial legislature, based on
4851-560: The police service such as the nationwide disbandment of specialised Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) units. The party adopted a resolution declaring farm attacks and murders as hate crimes at its 2020 Federal Congress. Central to the DA's social development policy, "Breaking the Cycle of Poverty", is a Basic Income Grant, which would provide a monthly transfer of R110 to all adults earning less than R46,000 per year. The party also supports legislation that would require
4928-423: The reintroduction of the death penalty , the party's controversial 1999 campaign slogan "Fight Back", and the short-lived alliance with the centre-right New National Party fuelled criticisms of the party from the left. After Helen Zille's election as party leader, the DA has attempted to reposition itself as a mainstream alternative to the ANC. The party's economic policy is also broadly centrist, and supports
5005-525: The restoration of a bicameral Congress via a constitutional amendment in 1941, and via adoption of a new constitution in 1987. A previous government of Ireland (the 31st Dáil) promised a referendum on the abolition of its upper house , the Seanad Éireann , during the 24th Seanad session. By a narrow margin, the Irish public voted to retain it. Conservative-leaning Fine Gael and Left-leaning Sinn Féin both supported
5082-561: The role of Provincial Deputy Chairperson of Recruitment and Campaigns, Percilla Mompe is the Provincial Deputy Chairperson of Media and Publicity and Neo Mabote is the Provincial Deputy Chairperson of Training and Development. Until 28 April 2021, the Democratic Alliance Women's Network (DAWN) federal leader was Nomafrench Mbombo , who is also the current Western Cape Minister of Health. The deputy federal leader
5159-462: The ruling ANC's approach to governance, which she maintains has led to a "closed, crony society for some". This formed the basis of the philosophy underlying the party's 2009 Election Manifesto, which seeks to build a society by linking outcomes to "opportunity, effort and ability". The DA's historical roots are broadly liberal-democratic. During the 1990s, the party remained associated with liberal values, though party leader Tony Leon 's support for
5236-404: The same form by both houses. Additionally, a Government must have the consent of both to remain in office, a position which is known as "perfect bicameralism" or "equal bicameralism." The role of a revising chamber is to scrutinise legislation that may have been drafted over-hastily in the lower house and to suggest amendments that the lower house may nevertheless reject if it wishes to. An example
5313-462: The same token we do not believe that a state, with limited capacity, should over-reach itself." In the DA's crime plan, "Conquering Fear, Commanding Hope", the DA committed itself to increasing the number of police officers to 250,000. This is 60,000 more than the government's own target. The party also announced plans to employ 30,000 additional detectives and forensics experts and 500 more prosecutors, in order to reduce court backlogs, and establish
5390-592: The senates of Australia, Brazil and the United States have a fixed number of elected members from each state, regardless of the population. Many jurisdictions once possessed upper houses but abolished them to adopt unicameral systems, including Croatia , Denmark , Estonia , Hungary , Iceland , Iran , Mauritania , New Zealand , Peru , Sweden , Turkey , Venezuela , many Indian states , Brazilian states , Canadian provinces , subnational entities such as Queensland , and some other jurisdictions. Newfoundland had
5467-527: The status of official opposition in 1999 under the leadership of Tony Leon , mainly by taking votes from the New National Party , the renamed version of the NP. The party also became kingmakers in the Western Cape province, where it formed a coalition government with the NNP. With a fractured national opposition standing against an increasingly dominant governing party, there was a perceived need to better challenge
5544-547: The two houses have sometimes reached a constitutional standoff. For example, when the Labour Government of 1999 tried to expel all hereditary peers from the Lords, the Lords threatened to wreck the Government's entire legislative agenda and to block every bill which was sent to the chamber. This standoff led to negotiations between Viscount Cranborne, the then Shadow Leader of the House, and the Labour Government, resulting in
5621-629: The type of bill: The office of President of the Senate was succeeded by the office of chairperson of the National Council of Provinces in 1997. The inaugural holder of the position was Mosiuoa Lekota . He served as chairperson from 1997 to 1999. The chairperson is elected from the permanent delegates for a five-year term. The election of the chairperson is presided over by the Chief Justice of South Africa. The Chief Justice can, however, designate another judge to preside. The chairperson, in turn, presides over
5698-471: The unpopularity of the ANC. The ANC failed to gain a majority of seats in the National Assembly after the election, leading to the DA agreeing to form a coalition of national unity, entering ruling government for the first time. The DA sums up its political philosophy as the belief in an "Open Opportunity Society for All". Former party leader Helen Zille has argued that this stands in direct contrast to
5775-469: The youth. These interventions include a wage subsidy programme to reduce the cost of hiring first-time workers. The DA has committed itself to a counter-cyclical fiscal policy approach. This is evident in the party's previous alternative budget frameworks, with both alternative budgets posting deficits. The party defended this stance by arguing that increased spending was necessary to help the economy out of recession . Other fiscal interventions have included
5852-909: Was elected at the Interim Democratic Alliance Youth Federal Congress in 2022. Robin Atson, Kamogelo Makola, Chadwin Petersen and Lindokuhle Sixabayi are the Interim DA Youth Federal Deputy Chaipersons in Administration, Recruitment, Training and Development, and Media and Publicity, respectively. In the Gauteng Province, the first dually elected Democratic Alliance Youth Provincial Executive Committee took office in November 2017 after they were elected at
5929-535: Was still not a living wage, and would only "advance the struggle for a living wage". The DA is resolutely against land expropriation without compensation. This is in response to the ANC and the EFF's recent attempts to change section 25 of the Constitution which deals with land reform. The DA says that changing the Constitution will open the floodgates and undermine property rights, allowing government to own all land and forcing all South Africans to be only permanent tenants of
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