5th National Assembly | |||||
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Overview | |||||
Legislative body | National Assembly of South Africa | ||||
Jurisdiction | South Africa | ||||
Meeting place | Houses of Parliament | ||||
Term | 21 May 2014 – 7 May 2019 | ||||
Election | 7 May 2014 | ||||
Members | 400 | ||||
Speaker | Baleka Mbete | ||||
Deputy Speaker | Lech Tsenoli | ||||
President | Jacob Zuma (until 14 February 2018) Cyril Ramaphosa (from 15 February 2018) | ||||
Leader of the Opposition | Mmusi Maimane | ||||
Cabinet | |||||
Party control | African National Congress |
The 26th Parliament of South Africa sat between 2014 and 2019.[1] Members of the National Assembly were elected during the elections of 7 May 2014. In the elections, the African National Congress (ANC) retained a diminished majority, winning 249 seats in the 400-seat legislature.[2] The Democratic Alliance, with 89 seats, remained the largest opposition party. A new entrant, the Economic Freedom Fighters, became the third-largest party in the National Assembly, winning 25 seats.[3] Also represented were nine smaller parties: the African Christian Democratic Party, the African Independent Congress, Agang South Africa, the Congress of the People, the Inkatha Freedom Party, the Freedom Front Plus, the National Freedom Party, the Pan Africanist Congress, and the United Democratic Movement.[4]
Members were sworn in to their seats on 21 May 2014.[5] At its opening session, the National Assembly elected the ANC's Baleka Mbete to succeed Max Sisulu as Speaker of the National Assembly; she comfortably defeated the opposition candidate, receiving 260 votes to the 88 cast for Nosimo Balindlela of the DA. Lech Tsenoli was elected unopposed as Mbete's deputy.[5] Later in the same session, Jacob Zuma was elected unopposed to his second term as President of South Africa.[6] However, Zuma did not complete his term: on 14 February 2018, Mbete announced that the ANC had decided to support a motion of no confidence in Zuma, and he resigned shortly before midnight that night.[7][8] The following day, the National Assembly elected Zuma's former Deputy President, Cyril Ramaphosa, to his succeed him.[9]