South Africa

National AssemblyNational Council of Provinces

National Assembly

Political system Political systems: Presidential, Parliamentary, Presidential-Parliamentary, Monarchy, Communist, Transitional.
Parliamentary system
Compare data of this field.
Structure of parliament Structure of parliament: Unicameral, bicameral
Bicameral
Compare data of this field.
IPU membership Current membership status
Yes
Compare data of this field.

Data on women

empty

Basic information > About parliament

Speaker

Speaker
Nosiviwe Noluthando Mapisa-Nqakula (Female)
Year of birth
1956
Additional information
Elected on 19 Aug. 2021.
See historical data for this field.

Secretary general

Secretary General
Xolile George (Male)
Notes Additional information about the Secretary General, in particular regarding their term.
15 June 2022 -
Secretary General
Masibulele Xaso (Male)

Members

Current number of members, by sex
Men The number of male parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
216
See historical data for this field.
Women The number of female parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
183
See historical data for this field.
Percentage of women Calculated by dividing the current number of women by the current number of members.
45.86% See historical data for this field.

Age

Youngest member (years) Age at the time of the last election or renewal.
24
Compare data of this field.
Youngest member
Sibongiseni Ngcobo (Male)
Oldest member (years) Age at the time of the last election or renewal.
88
Oldest member
Buthelezi Mangosuthu (Male)
Members for whom no data is available IPU does not contain age and gender data for all chambers of parliament.
60
Total number of MPs, 45 years of age or younger
120 See historical data for this field.
Total number of MPs, 46 years of age or older
220 See historical data for this field.
Total per sex
Total of male
185 See historical data for this field.
Total of female
155 See historical data for this field.
Total per age interval
18-20
0
21-30
16 See historical data for this field.
31-40
66 See historical data for this field.
41-45
38 See historical data for this field.
46-50
42 See historical data for this field.
51-60
123 See historical data for this field.
61-70
49 See historical data for this field.
71-80
5 See historical data for this field.
81-90
0 See historical data for this field.
91 and over
1 See historical data for this field.
Number of members, by age
Breakdown of members by age and gender
18 - 20 21 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 45 46 - 50 51 - 60 61 - 70 71 - 80 81 - 90 91 and over Totals per gender
Totals per age interval 0 16 66 38 42 123 49 5 0 1
Total <= 45: 120 Total >= 46: 220
Male 0 10 33 19 20 68 31 3 0 1 185
Female 0 6 33 19 22 55 18 2 0 0 155
Percentage of members, by age
Age as last election or renewalOverallMaleFemale
Percentage of MPs 30 years of age or younger4.71%2.94%1.76%
Percentage of MPs 40 years of age or younger24.12%12.65%11.47%
Percentage of MPs 45 years of age or younger35.29%18.24%17.06%

Reserved seats and quotas

Electoral quota for women Quotas to promote the representation of women in parliament.
Yes
Compare data of this field.
Notes
Political party quota - 'the provision of a quota of not less than fifty percent of women in all elected structures.
Elections > Election results

Results

Members elected, by sex
Number of men elected
216
Number of women elected
179
Percentage of women elected The percentage is calculated by dividing the number of women elected in the election and the number of seats at stake at the election.
44.75%
Number of women after election or renewal, by mode of designation
Women Directly Elected
179

New legislature

Total number of men after the election The total number of male parliamentarians in this parliament/chamber following the election or renewal, regardless of their modes of designation.
216
Total number of women after the election The total number of female parliamentarians in this parliament/chamber following the election or renewal, regardless of their modes of designation.
179
First Speaker of the new legislature
First Speaker of the new legislature First name of the Speaker of the new legislature following the election or renewal.
T R Modise (Female)
Political party
African National Congress (ANC)
Date of election
22.05.2019
Elections > Historical data on women

Women's suffrage

Women’s right to vote
Women’s right to vote Year in which women obtained the right to vote
1930
National or local Suffrage: National or Local
National
Restricted or unrestricted suffrage Suffrage: Restricted or Universal
Restricted
Detail of restrictions Suffrage: Restrictions detail
White women only
Women’s right to vote Year in which women obtained the right to vote
1984
National or local Suffrage: National or Local
National
Restricted or unrestricted suffrage Suffrage: Restricted or Universal
Restricted
Detail of restrictions Suffrage: Restrictions detail
Colored and South Africans accorded the right to vote but only for their respective Houses in the tri-cameral parliament
Women’s right to vote Year in which women obtained the right to vote
1994
National or local Suffrage: National or Local
National
Restricted or unrestricted suffrage Suffrage: Restricted or Universal
Universal
Notes Suffrage: Additional Notes on right of suffrage
The right of all South Africans to vote is enshrined in the Bill of Rights of the constitution since 1996 but men and women had exercised this right since 1994.
Women’s right to stand for election
Women's right to stand for election Year in which women obtained the right to stand for election
1930
National or local Stand for Election: National or Local
National
Restricted or unrestricted suffrage Stand for Election : Restricted or Universal
Restricted
Detail of restrictions Stand for Election: Restrictions detail
White women only
Women's right to stand for election Year in which women obtained the right to stand for election
1984
National or local Stand for Election: National or Local
National
Restricted or unrestricted suffrage Stand for Election : Restricted or Universal
Restricted
Detail of restrictions Stand for Election: Restrictions detail
Colored and South Africans accorded the right to vote but only for their respective Houses in the tri-cameral parliament
Women's right to stand for election Year in which women obtained the right to stand for election
1994
National or local Stand for Election: National or Local
National
Restricted or unrestricted suffrage Stand for Election : Restricted or Universal
Universal
Notes Stand for Election: Additional Notes on right to stand for election
The right of all South Africans to vote is enshrined in the Bill of Rights of the constitution since 1996 but men and women had exercised this right since 1994.
First woman in parliament
First woman in parliament Year in which first woman entered parliament
1933
First woman speaker
Year of first woman speaker Date at which, for the first time in the country's parliamentary history, a woman became Presiding Officer of Parliament or of one of its Houses.
1994

Specialized body - Women's caucus

Multi-Party Women's Caucus
(January 2008)
Formal or informal
Formal
The caucus is open to male MPs
No
The caucus is cross-party
Yes
There are rules governing the functioning of the caucus
Yes

Activities

Issues dealt with by the caucus
• Developmental and empowerment issues of women in political structures within and outside of Parliament
• Mainstreaming of women’s perspective in parliamentary activities, including the programming of debates
• Promotion of women's issues in Parliament, including their referral and submission to the Portfolio and Select committees charged with oversight of women's issues
The caucus has a strategic plan or plan of action
Yes
The caucus has a communication plan
No

Contact information for the Committee

Address
90 Plein Street
Cape Town
8000
South Africa
Phone
+27-0214033673
E-mail
[email protected]
Web site
https://www.parliament.gov.za/press-releases/multi-party-womens-caucus-focusses-co-operatives-empower-local-women