The 2007 floor crossing window period in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
was a period of 15 days, from 1 to 15 September 2007, in which members of the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
and the
provincial legislatures, and
municipal council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
s were able to
cross the floor
In parliamentary systems, politicians are said to cross the floor if they formally change their political affiliation to a different political party than which they were initially elected under (as is the case in Canada and the United Kingdom). ...
from one political party to another without giving up their seats. The period was authorised by the
Tenth Amendment of the
Constitution of South Africa
The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, it sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the Gover ...
, which scheduled regular window periods in the second and fourth September after each election. The
previous general election had been held on 14 April 2004, and a previous window period had occurred in September 2005.
In the National Assembly and the provincial legislatures, the changes were minor, with the most significant development being the creation of the
African People's Convention
The African People's Convention is a South African political party formed by Themba Godi, former deputy leader of the Pan-Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) via floor-crossing legislation, on 4 September 2007. Godi defected along with the PA ...
by departing members of the
Pan Africanist Congress
The Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (known as the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC)) is a South African national liberation Pan-Africanist movement that is now a political party. It was founded by an Africanist group, led by Robert Sobukwe, that ...
.
The tables below show all the changes; in those provinces not listed there was no change in the provincial legislature.
Tables
National Assembly
, -style="background:#e9e9e9;"
!colspan="2" style="text-align:left", Party
!Seats before
!Net change
!Seats after
, -
,
, 293
, +4
, 297
, -
,
, 47
, 0
, 47
, -
,
, 23
, 0
, 23
, -
,
, 6
, 0
, 6
, -
,
, 5
, −1
, 4
, -
,
, 4
, 0
, 4
, -
,
, 4
, 0
, 4
, -
, bgcolor="#eeeeee",
, style="text-align:left",
National Democratic Convention
, 4
, 0
, 4
, -
,
, 3
, 0
, 3
, -
,
, 2
, 0
, 2
, -
,
[Party created during this floor-crossing period.]
,
, +2
, 2
, -
,
, 3
, −2
, 1
, -
,
, 1
, 0
, 1
, -
, bgcolor="#eeeeee",
, style="text-align:left",
Federation of Democrats
, 1
, 0
, 1
, -
, bgcolor="#eeeeee",
, style="text-align:left",
National Alliance
,
, +1
, 1
, -
,
, 2
, −2
, 0
, -
, bgcolor="#eeeeee",
, style="text-align:left",
Progressive Independent Movement
, 1
, −1
, 0
, -
, bgcolor="#eeeeee",
, style="text-align:left",
United Party
, 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
, -
,
, 51
, +2
, 53
, -
,
, 5
, 0
, 5
, -
,
, 4
, 0
, 4
, -
,
,
, +1
, 1
, -
,
, 2
, −2
, 0
, -
,
, 1
, −1
, 0
, -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
, -
,
, 51
, 0
, 51
, -
,
, 12
, +1
, 13
, -
,
, 2
, 0
, 2
, -
,
, 1
, +1
, 2
, -
,
, 1
, +1
, 2
, -
,
, 1
, 0
, 1
, -
, bgcolor="#eeeeee",
, style="text-align:left",
Alliance of Free Democrats
The Alliance of Free Democrats – Hungarian Liberal Party ( hu, Szabad Demokraták Szövetsége – a Magyar Liberális Párt, SZDSZ) was a liberal political party in Hungary.
The SZDSZ was a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrat ...
, 1
, 0
, 1
, -
,
,
, +1
, 1
, -
, bgcolor="#eeeeee",
, style="text-align:left",
Federal Alliance
, 2
, −2
, 0
, -
,
, 1
, −1
, 0
, -
,
, 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
, -
,
, 40
, +1
, 41
, -
,
, 27
, 0
, 27
, -
,
, 5
, 0
, 5
, -
, bgcolor="#eeeeee",
, style="text-align:left",
National Democratic Convention
, 4
, −1
, 3
, -
,
, 2
, 0
, 2
, -
,
, 1
, 0
, 1
, -
,
, 1
, 0
, 1
, -style="background:#e9e9e9;"
!colspan="2" style="text-align:left", Total
!colspan="3" style="text-align:center", 80
Limpopo Provincial Legislature
, -style="background:#e9e9e9;"
!colspan="2" style="text-align:left", Party
!Seats before
!Net change
!Seats after
, -
,
, 45
, +1
, 46
, -
,
, 2
, −1
, 1
, -
,
, 1
, 0
, 1
, -
,
, 1
, 0
, 1
, -style="background:#e9e9e9;"
!colspan="2" style="text-align:left", Total
!colspan="3" style="text-align:center", 49
Northern Cape Provincial Legislature
, -style="background:#e9e9e9;"
!colspan="2" style="text-align:left", Party
!Seats before
!Net change
!Seats after
, -
,
, 24
, +1
, 25
, -
,
, 3
, −1
, 2
, -
,
, 1
, 0
, 1
, -
,
, 1
, 0
, 1
, -
,
, 1
, 0
, 1
, -style="background:#e9e9e9;"
!colspan="2" style="text-align:left", Total
!colspan="3" style="text-align:center", 30
Western Cape Provincial Parliament
, -style="background:#e9e9e9;"
!colspan="2" style="text-align:left", Party
!Seats before
!Net change
!Seats after
, -
,
, 24
, +3
, 27
, -
,
, 13
, −2
, 11
, -
,
, 2
, 0
, 2
, -
,
, 2
, −1
, 1
, -
,
, 1
, 0
, 1
, -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 Provinces
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 ...
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
!
L
!
M
!
NW
!
NC
!
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
, 5
, 4
, 4
, 3
, ''36''
, rowspan=2, ''68''
, -
, style="text-align:left", Special
, 4
, 4
, 3
, 2
, 4
, 4
, 4
, 4
, 3
, ''32''
, -
, 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
, 1
, 2
, ''10''
, rowspan=2, ''12''
, -
, 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
, 2
,
,
,
,
,
, ''3''
, rowspan=2, ''4''
, -
, style="text-align:left", Special
,
,
,
, 1
,
,
,
,
,
, ''1''
, -
,
, style="text-align:left", Permanent
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
, 1
, colspan=2, ''1''
, -
,
, style="text-align:left", Permanent
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
, 1
,
, colspan=2, ''1''
, -
,
, style="text-align:left", Permanent
,
, 1
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
, colspan=2, ''1''
, -
,
, style="text-align:left", Permanent
,
,
,
,
,
,
, 1
,
,
, colspan=2, ''1''
, -
,
, style="text-align:left", Permanent
, 1
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
, colspan=2, ''1''
, -
, bgcolor="#eeeeee",
, style="text-align:left",
National Democratic Convention
, style="text-align:left", Special
,
,
,
, 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''
Notes to the tables
National floor crossings
From PAC to APC
*
Themba Godi
Nelson Themba Godi (born 10 August 1966 in Matsavana) is a South African politician and a former member of the National Assembly. As deputy parliamentary leader of the Pan-Africanist Congress of Azania, he was suspended by PAC's president, Motso ...
*
Mofihli Likotsi
Provincial floor crossings
Eastern Cape
From PAC to APC
*
Zingisa Mkhabile
Western Cape
From UIF to DA
*
Elizabeth Thompson (politician)
From DA to ANC
*
Kent Morkel
*
Kobus Brynard
Gauteng
From PAC to APC
*
Malesela Ledwaba
Municipal floor crossings
City of Cape Town
From DA to NPP
*
David Sasman
See also
*
Floor crossing (South Africa)
Floor crossing was a system introduced to the post-apartheid South African political system in 2002, under which members of Parliament, members of provincial legislatures and local government councillors could change political party (or form a new ...
*
2003 South African floor-crossing window period
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 legislatures were able to cross the floor from one political party to anothe ...
*
2005 South African floor-crossing window period
The 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 ...
References
{{Reflist
Political history of South Africa
2007 in South Africa