96-570: The Government of South Africa , or South African Government , is the national government of the Republic of South Africa , a parliamentary republic with a three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary , operating in a parliamentary system . Legislative authority is held by the Parliament of South Africa . Executive authority is vested in the President of South Africa who
192-597: A National Assembly and a National Council of Provinces . The current twenty-eighth Parliament was first convened on 14 June 2024. From 1910 to 1994, members of Parliament were elected chiefly by the South African white minority . The first elections with universal suffrage were held in 1994 . The President , Deputy President and the Ministers of the South African Government make up
288-583: A referendum . Formal negotiations began in December 1991 at the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA). The parties agreed on a process whereby a negotiated transitional constitution would provide for an elected constitutional assembly to draw up a permanent constitution. The CODESA negotiations broke down, however, after the second plenary session in May 1992. One of the major points of dispute
384-434: A Parliament made up of two houses: a 400-member National Assembly , directly elected by party-list proportional representation , and a ninety-member Senate , in which each of the nine provinces was represented by ten Senators, elected by the provincial legislature . The Constitutional Assembly consisted of both houses sitting together, and was responsible for drawing up a final constitution within two years. The adoption of
480-456: A goal to create a typology or taxonomy of polities , as typologies of political systems are not obvious. It is especially important in the political science fields of comparative politics and international relations . Like all categories discerned within forms of government, the boundaries of government classifications are either fluid or ill-defined. Superficially, all governments have an official de jure or ideal form. The United States
576-425: A governing body, such as a legislature or jury . Some governments combine both direct and indirect democratic governance, wherein the citizenry selects representatives to administer day-to-day governance, while also reserving the right to govern directly through popular initiatives , referendums (plebiscites), and the right of recall . In a constitutional democracy the powers of the majority are exercised within
672-631: A limited extent by adopting its own provincial constitution. (The only province so far to have done this is the Western Cape .) The chapter provides for a unicameral legislature , a Premier elected by the legislature as head of the provincial executive, and an Executive Council appointed by the Premier as a provincial cabinet. The provincial government is given exclusive powers over certain matters, listed in Schedule 5, and powers concurrent with
768-554: A new constitutional text required a two-thirds supermajority in the Constitutional Assembly, as well as the support of two-thirds of senators on matters relating to provincial government. If a two-thirds majority could not be obtained, a constitutional text could be adopted by a simple majority and then put to a national referendum in which sixty per cent support would be required for it to pass. The Interim Constitution contained 34 constitutional principles with which
864-886: A number of other commissions and offices to protect and support democracy and human rights. These are the Public Protector (an ombudsman ), the South African Human Rights Commission , the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities , the Commission for Gender Equality , the Auditor-General , the Independent Electoral Commission and
960-609: A quarter of the world's population under democratically backsliding governments. Chapter Six 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 Government . The current constitution ,
1056-469: A republican form of government. Since 1997, the Constitution has been amended by eighteen amendment acts. The Constitution is formally entitled the " Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 ." It was previously also numbered as if it were an Act of Parliament – Act No. 108 of 1996 – but, since the passage of the Citation of Constitutional Laws Act , neither it nor
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#17327655629121152-507: A single "Category A" municipal authority and others are governed by a two-level system with a larger "Category C" municipality containing multiple "Category B" municipalities. The municipalities are granted the power to administer certain matters listed in Schedules 4 and 5, and the executive and legislative authority is vested in the municipal council. The chapter requires municipal elections to be held every five years. Chapter 8 establishes
1248-466: A standalone entity or as a hybrid system of the main three. Historically prevalent forms of government include monarchy, aristocracy , timocracy , oligarchy , democracy , theocracy , and tyranny . These forms are not always mutually exclusive, and mixed governments are common. The main aspect of any philosophy of government is how political power is obtained, with the two main forms being electoral contest and hereditary succession . A government
1344-407: A standalone entity or as a hybrid system of the main three. Scholars generally refer to a dictatorship as either a form of authoritarianism or totalitarianism. An autocracy is a system of government in which supreme power is concentrated in the hands of one person, whose decisions are subject to neither external legal restraints nor regularized mechanisms of popular control (except perhaps for
1440-477: A striking parallel with star formation, new structures suddenly appeared, together with a new level of complexity. Like stars, cities and states reorganize and energize the smaller objects within their gravitational field. Another explanation includes the need to properly manage infrastructure projects such as water infrastructure. Historically, this required centralized administration and complex social organisation, as seen in regions like Mesopotamia. However, there
1536-463: A system of mixed-member proportional representation , while the councils of district municipalities are partly elected by proportional representation and partly appointed by the councils of the constituent local municipalities. In each legislative body, the party or coalition of parties holding a majority of seats forms the government. The largest party not in the government is recognised as the official opposition. Government A government
1632-518: A whites-only referendum, created the Tricameral Parliament , with separate houses representing Whites , Coloureds and Indians but without representation for Blacks . The figurehead State President and executive Prime Minister were merged into an executive State President, chosen by parliament. This contradiction remains to date and is nearly unique to South Africa (one exception being neighbouring Botswana ). The Constitution of
1728-493: Is a federal constitutional republic, while the former Soviet Union was a federal socialist republic . However self-identification is not objective, and as Kopstein and Lichbach argue, defining regimes can be tricky, especially de facto , when both its government and its economy deviate in practice. For example, Voltaire argued that "the Holy Roman Empire is neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire". In practice,
1824-429: Is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, elite ruling class , such as a hereditary nobility or privileged caste . This class exercises minority rule , often as a landed timocracy , wealthy plutocracy , or oligarchy . Many monarchies were aristocracies, although in modern constitutional monarchies, the monarch may have little effective power. The term aristocracy could also refer to
1920-448: Is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head . The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and constituent political units, variously called states, provinces or otherwise. Federalism is a system based upon democratic principles and institutions in which
2016-626: Is a stated intention in the Constitution that the country be run on a system of cooperative governance. The national government is composed of three inter-connected branches; the legislature (parliament, consisting of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces ), the executive (the President , who is both Head of State and Head of Government ), and the judiciary (the Constitutional Court ,
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#17327655629122112-474: Is also sometimes used in English as a synonym for rule or governance. In other languages, cognates may have a narrower scope, such as the government of Portugal , which is actually more similar to the concept of "administration" . The moment and place that the phenomenon of human government developed is lost in time; however, history does record the formations of early governments. About 5,000 years ago,
2208-605: Is archaeological evidence that shows similar successes with more egalitarian and decentralized complex societies. Starting at the end of the 17th century, the prevalence of republican forms of government grew. The English Civil War and Glorious Revolution in England, the American Revolution , and the French Revolution contributed to the growth of representative forms of government. The Soviet Union
2304-471: Is called an aristocracy. In other kinds of Commonwealth there can be none: for either one, or more, or all, must have the sovereign power (which I have shown to be indivisible) entire. According to Yale professor Juan José Linz , there a three main types of political systems today: democracies , totalitarian regimes and, sitting between these two, authoritarian regimes with hybrid regimes . Another modern classification system includes monarchies as
2400-701: Is head of state and head of government, and his Cabinet. The President is elected by the Parliament to serve a fixed term. South Africa's government differs from those of other Commonwealth nations. The national, provincial and local levels of government all have legislative and executive authority in their own spheres, and are defined in the South African Constitution as "distinctive, interdependent and interrelated". Operating at both national and provincial levels ("domes") are advisory bodies drawn from South Africa's traditional leaders. It
2496-463: Is placed under the control of the national government but gives provincial governments some power to administer and oversee policing. Chapter 12 recognizes the status and authority of traditional leaders and customary law , subject to the Constitution. It allows for the creation of provincial houses of traditional leaders and a national council of traditional leaders. The Traditional leaders must have responsibilities in affairs and decision making of
2592-585: Is the system to govern a state or community. The Columbia Encyclopedia defines government as "a system of social control under which the right to make laws, and the right to enforce them, is vested in a particular group in society". While all types of organizations have governance , the word government is often used more specifically to refer to the approximately 200 independent national governments on Earth, as well as their subsidiary organizations, such as state and provincial governments as well as local governments . The word government derives from
2688-507: Is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state . In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature , executive , and judiciary . Government is a means by which organizational policies are enforced, as well as a mechanism for determining policy. In many countries, the government has a kind of constitution , a statement of its governing principles and philosophy. While all types of organizations have governance ,
2784-581: Is to be reconceptualised where in times of climatic change the needs and desires of the individual are reshaped to generate sufficiency for all. The quality of a government can be measured by Government effectiveness index , which relates to political efficacy and state capacity . List of forms of government Plato in his book The Republic (375 BC) divided governments into five basic types (four being existing forms and one being Plato's ideal form, which exists "only in speech"): These five regimes progressively degenerate starting with aristocracy at
2880-421: Is typically the case with majority governments, but even a minority government may consist of just one party unable to find a willing coalition partner at the moment. A state that continuously maintains a single-party government within a (nominally) multiparty system possesses a dominant-party system . In a (nondemocratic) one-party system a single ruling party has the (more-or-less) exclusive right to form
2976-596: The Financial and Fiscal Commission , to advise government on financial matters, and the Reserve Bank , to oversee the currency . Economist Jacques Jonker has criticised the provisions of Chapter 13 as being insufficient to guard against fiscal imprudence, and has suggested that it be amended in line with other constitutions such as that of Spain in order to enforce fiscal discipline. The final chapter deals with transitional and incidental provisions. In particular,
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3072-936: The Independent Communications Authority . Chapter 10 lists values and principles for the administration of the civil service and establishes the Public Service Commission to oversee it. Chapter 11 establishes structures for civilian control of the Defence Force , the Police Service and the intelligence services . It makes the President the Commander-in-Chief of the defence force but places conditions on when and how it may be employed and requires regular reports to Parliament. The police service
3168-561: The Judicial Service Commission . These responsibilities were merged into a single post, reflecting the pre-eminence of the Constitutional Court at the apex of the court system. Other provisions of the amendment: The Constitution Seventh Amendment Act (formerly the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Second Amendment Act, 2001) came into force on 26 April 2002, except for provisions affecting
3264-663: The Supreme Court of Appeal , and the High Court ). All bodies of the South African Government are subject to the rule of the Constitution, which is the supreme law in South Africa. The Parliament of the Republic of South Africa is South Africa 's legislature . It is located in Cape Town , the country's legislative capital . Under the present Constitution of South Africa , the bicameral Parliament comprises
3360-428: The executive branch of the national government. Ministers are Members of Parliament who are appointed by the President to head the various departments of the national government . The president is elected by parliament from its members. The third branch of the national government is an independent judiciary. The judicial branch interprets the laws, using as a basis the laws as enacted and explanatory statements made in
3456-460: The separation of powers with an impartial judiciary , provincial and local levels of government with democratic representation, and protection of the diversity of languages and cultures . The Bill of Rights, now in Chapter Two of the Constitution of South Africa , was largely written by Kader Asmal and Albie Sachs . The new constitutional text was to be tested against these principles by
3552-478: The Constitution provides that a bill to amend the Constitution can only be passed if at least two-thirds of the members of the National Assembly (that is, at least 267 of the 400 members) vote in favour of it. If the amendment affects provincial powers or boundaries, or if it amends the Bill of Rights, at least six of the nine provinces in the National Council of Provinces must also vote for it. To amend section 1 of
3648-477: The Constitution, which establishes the existence of South Africa as a sovereign, democratic state, and lays out the country's founding values, would require the support of three-quarters of the members of the National Assembly. There have been eighteen amendments since 1996. The Constitution First Amendment Act (formerly the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Amendment Act, 1997) was signed by
3744-502: The Constitutional Court". The presiding judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), who had previously had the title of Chief Justice, became instead "President of the Supreme Court of Appeal". The deputy heads of each court were also renamed similarly. Consequentially many provisions of the Constitution had to be amended where they made reference to the President of the Constitutional Court. These changes were intended to clarify
3840-499: The Greek verb κυβερνάω [ kubernáo ] meaning to steer with a gubernaculum (rudder), the metaphorical sense being attested in the literature of classical antiquity , including Plato 's Ship of State . In British English , "government" sometimes refers to what's also known as a " ministry " or an " administration ", i.e., the policies and government officials of a particular executive or governing coalition . Finally, government
3936-495: The Legislature during the enactment. The legal system is based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law and accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations. The constitution's bill of rights provides for due process including the right to a fair , public trial within a reasonable time. The nine provinces of South Africa are governed by provincial governments which form the second layer of government, between
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4032-416: The President and Cabinet. Chapter 6 establishes the nine provinces of South Africa and defines the powers and structure of the provincial governments. The boundaries of the provinces are defined by reference to Schedule 1A to the Constitution, which refers in turn to the boundaries of the metropolitan and district municipalities . In some respects, the chapter is a template which a province may modify to
4128-529: The President on 28 August 1997 but had effect retroactively to 4 February 1997 when the constitution came into force. It had three provisions: This last change allowed the TRC to deal with various violent events, particularly the Bophuthatswana coup d'état and its aftermath, that had occurred in the run-up to the 1994 general elections . The Constitution Second Amendment Act (formerly the Constitution of
4224-470: The Republic of South Africa Amendment Act, 1998) came into force on 7 October 1998. It had five provisions: The Constitution Third Amendment Act (formerly the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Second Amendment Act, 1998) came into force on 30 October 1998. It allowed for municipalities to be established across provincial boundaries by the agreement of the national and the relevant provincial governments. The changes it made were reversed in 2005 by
4320-407: The Republic of South Africa, 1993 or Interim Constitution was introduced at the end of apartheid to govern the period of transition. It introduced, for the first time, the framework of a liberal democracy, universal adult suffrage and a bill of rights . An integral part of the negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa was the creation of a new constitution. One of the major disputed issues
4416-772: The Soviet Union was a centralized autocratic one-party state under Joseph Stalin . Identifying a form of government is also difficult because many political systems originate as socio-economic movements and are then carried into governments by parties naming themselves after those movements; all with competing political ideologies. Experience with those movements in power, and the strong ties they may have to particular forms of government, can cause them to be considered as forms of government in themselves. Other complications include general non-consensus or deliberate " distortion or bias " of reasonable technical definitions of political ideologies and associated forms of governing, due to
4512-542: The Twelfth Amendment. The Constitution Fourth Amendment Act and Constitution Fifth Amendment Act (formerly the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Amendment Act, 1999 and Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Second Amendment Act, 1999) came into force on 19 March 1999. They were passed as two separate amendments because the Fourth contained provisions affecting provincial government, which required
4608-609: The United States has been chiefly associated with right-wing politics and the Republican Party . However, during the era of segregation many Southern Democrats were conservatives, and they played a key role in the conservative coalition that controlled Congress from 1937 to 1963. Opinions vary by individuals concerning the types and properties of governments that exist. "Shades of gray" are commonplace in any government and its corresponding classification. Even
4704-429: The activities of associated government officials and candidates for office. In a multiparty system of government, multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government offices, typically by competing in elections , although the effective number of parties may be limited. A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties together holding an absolute majority of seats in
4800-514: The acts amending it are allocated act numbers. The South Africa Act 1909 , an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom , unified four British colonies – Cape Colony , Transvaal Colony , Orange River Colony and Natal Colony – into the Union of South Africa , a self-governing dominion . The Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1961 transformed
4896-522: The approval of the National Council of Provinces , while the Fifth did not. The Fourth Amendment: The Fifth Amendment: The Constitution Sixth Amendment Act (formerly the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Amendment Act, 2001) came into force on 21 November 2001. Its main effect was to give the title of " Chief Justice of South Africa " to the presiding judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa , who had previously been titled "President of
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#17327655629124992-402: The basis of governments. These governments gradually became more complex as agriculture supported larger and denser populations, creating new interactions and social pressures that the government needed to control. David Christian explains As farming populations gathered in larger and denser communities, interactions between different groups increased and the social pressure rose until, in
5088-607: The chapter contains a miscellaneous collection of provisions, Chapter 14 also repeals the Interim Constitution and refers to Schedule 6 to govern the process of transition to the new Constitution. Finally, it gives the Constitution its formal title, "Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996," and defines the schedule for its commencement, under which the President set the date of commencement for most sections, although certain sections dealing with financial matters commenced only on 1 January 1998. Section 74 of
5184-455: The constitution key national principles, defines the country's flag and national anthem , and specifies the official languages and principles of government language policy. It defines South Africa as "one, sovereign, democratic state" based on principles of human rights, constitutional supremacy, the rule of law and universal adult suffrage. The chapter contains a supremacy clause which establishes that all other law and actions are subject to
5280-446: The constitution. Chapter 2 is a bill of rights which enumerates the civil, political , economic, social and cultural human rights of the people of South Africa. Most of these rights apply to anyone in the country, with the exception of the right to vote, the right to work and the right to enter the country, which apply only to citizens. They also apply to juristic persons to the extent that they are applicable, taking into account
5376-548: The country's fifth, was drawn up by the Parliament elected in 1994 in the South African general election, 1994 . It was promulgated by President Nelson Mandela on 18 December 1996 and came into effect on 4 February 1997, replacing the Interim Constitution of 1993. The first constitution was enacted by the South Africa Act 1909 , the longest-lasting to date. Since 1961 , the constitutions have promulgated
5472-428: The courts. Chapter 4 defines the structure of Parliament , the legislative branch of the national government. Parliament consists of two houses, the National Assembly (the lower house ), which is directly elected by the people, and the National Council of Provinces (the upper house ), which is elected by the provincial legislatures . The Chapter defines the principles governing the election and dissolution of
5568-453: The declaration of states of emergency and provides for the rights of people detained as a result. Chapter 3 deals with the relationships between organs of government in the three "spheres" – national, provincial and local . It lays down a set of principles requiring them to co-operate in good faith and to act in the best interests of the people. It also requires them to attempt to settle disputes amicably before resorting to
5664-462: The final constitution would have to comply, so that basic freedoms would be ensured and minority rights protected, without overly limiting the role of the elected constitutional assembly. The parties to the MPNP adopted this idea and proceeded to draft the Interim Constitution of 1993 , which was formally enacted by Parliament and came into force on 27 April 1994. The Interim Constitution provided for
5760-480: The first part deals with international law , providing that existing agreements binding South Africa will continue to bind it, and that new agreements (except those of a technical nature) will only be binding once approved by Parliament. It also provides that customary international law applies in South African unless it conflicts with national law, and that the courts must, where possible, interpret national law to be consistent with international law. The remainder of
5856-843: The first small city-states appeared. By the third to second millenniums BC, some of these had developed into larger governed areas: Sumer , ancient Egypt , the Indus Valley civilization , and the Yellow River civilization . One reason that explains the emergence of governments includes agriculture. Since the Neolithic Revolution , agriculture has been an efficient method to create food surplus. This enabled people to specialize in non-agricultural activities. Some of them included being able to rule over others as an external authority. Others included social experimentation with diverse governance models. Both these activities formed
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#17327655629125952-570: The framework of representative democracy, but the constitution limits majority rule , usually through the provision by all of certain universal rights , such as freedom of speech or freedom of association . A republic is a form of government in which the country is considered a "public matter" ( Latin : res publica ), not the private concern or property of the rulers, and where offices of states are subsequently directly or indirectly elected or appointed rather than inherited. The people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over
6048-811: The functions and number of branches. An independent, parallel distribution of powers between branches of government is the separation of powers . A shared, intersecting, or overlapping distribution of powers is the fusion of powers . Governments are often organised into three branches with separate powers: a legislature, an executive, and a judiciary; this is sometimes called the trias politica model. However, in parliamentary and semi-presidential systems , branches of government often intersect, having shared membership and overlapping functions. Many governments have fewer or additional branches, such as an independent electoral commission or auditory branch. Presently, most governments are administered by members of an explicitly constituted political party which coordinates
6144-628: The government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. A common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of state is not a monarch. Montesquieu included both democracies , where all the people have a share in rule, and aristocracies or oligarchies , where only some of the people rule, as republican forms of government. Other terms used to describe different republics include democratic republic , parliamentary republic , semi-presidential republic , presidential republic , federal republic , people's republic , and Islamic republic . Federalism
6240-401: The government, and the formation of other parties may be obstructed or illegal. In some cases, a government may have a non-partisan system , as is the case with absolute monarchy or non-partisan democracy . Democracy is the most popular form of government. More than half of the nations in the world are democracies—97 of 167, as of 2021. However, the world is becoming more authoritarian with
6336-461: The houses, qualifications for membership of Parliament, quorum requirements, procedures for the election of presiding officers, and the powers and privileges and immunities of Parliament and its members. It lays down the process for enacting bills into law; different procedures are provided for constitutional amendments, ordinary bills not affecting provincial matters, ordinary bills affecting provincial matters, and money bills . Chapter 5 defines
6432-555: The implicit threat of a coup d'état or mass insurrection ). Absolute monarchy is a historically prevalent form of autocracy, wherein a monarch governs as a singular sovereign with no limitation on royal prerogative . Most absolute monarchies are hereditary , however some, notably the Holy See , are elected by an electoral college (such as the college of cardinals , or prince-electors ). Other forms of autocracy include tyranny , despotism , and dictatorship . Aristocracy
6528-428: The legislature in turn elects one of its members as Premier to head the executive. The Premier appoints an Executive Council (a cabinet), consisting of members of the legislature, to administer the various departments of the provincial administration. Local government in South Africa consists of municipalities of various types. The largest metropolitan areas are governed by metropolitan municipalities , while
6624-531: The most liberal democracies limit rival political activity to one extent or another while the most tyrannical dictatorships must organize a broad base of support thereby creating difficulties for " pigeonholing " governments into narrow categories. Examples include the claims of the United States as being a plutocracy rather than a democracy since some American voters believe elections are being manipulated by wealthy Super PACs . Some consider that government
6720-485: The municipality in order to build proper sustainable development to the people that resides on that municipality. Because we have Traditional leaders that do not have daily duties day in and day out; in short they must be part of mayoral council. Chapter 13 deals with public finance . It establishes a National Revenue Fund , from which money may be appropriated only by an act of Parliament, and Provincial Revenue Funds , from which money may only be appropriated by an act of
6816-499: The national government and the municipalities . The provincial governments are established, and their structure defined, by Chapter Six of the Constitution of South Africa . The provincial governments are structured according to a parliamentary system in which the executive is dependent on and accountable to the legislature. In each province the provincial legislature is directly elected by proportional representation , and
6912-470: The national government over other matters, listed in Schedule 4. The chapter regulates the conflict between national and provincial legislation on the same topic, setting out the circumstances under which one or the other will prevail. Chapter 7 sets out a framework for local government . It requires municipalities to be established for the whole territory of South Africa, and provides for three categories of municipalities, whereby some areas are governed by
7008-463: The nature of politics in the modern era. For example: The meaning of "conservatism" in the United States has little in common with the way the word's definition is used elsewhere. As Ribuffo notes, "what Americans now call conservatism much of the world calls liberalism or neoliberalism "; a "conservative" in Finland would be labeled a " socialist " in the United States. Since the 1950s conservatism in
7104-415: The nature of the right. The rights enumerated are: Section 36 allows the rights listed to be limited only by laws of general application, and only to the extent that the restriction is reasonable and justifiable in "an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom." Section 37 allows certain rights to be limited during a state of emergency but places strict procedural limits on
7200-404: The new constitution was required to comply. These included multi-party democracy with regular elections and universal adult suffrage , supremacy of the constitution over all other law, a quasi- federal system in place of centralised government , non- racism and non- sexism , the protection of "all universally accepted fundamental rights, freedoms and civil liberties ," equality before the law,
7296-465: The newly established Constitutional Court . If the text complied with the principles, it would become the new constitution; if it did not, it would be referred back to the Constitutional Assembly. The Constitutional Assembly engaged in a massive public participation programme to solicit views and suggestions from the public. As the deadline for the adoption of a constitutional text approached, however, many issues were hashed out in private meetings between
7392-550: The non- peasant , non-servant, and non- city classes in the feudal system . Democracy is a system of government where citizens exercise power by voting and deliberation . In a direct democracy , the citizenry as a whole directly forms a participatory governing body and vote directly on each issue. In indirect democracy , the citizenry governs indirectly through the selection of representatives or delegates from among themselves, typically by election or, less commonly, by sortition . These select citizens then meet to form
7488-405: The parliament, in contrast to a minority government in which they have only a plurality of seats and often depend on a confidence-and-supply arrangement with other parties. A coalition government is one in which multiple parties cooperate to form a government as part of a coalition agreement . In a single-party government, a single party forms a government without the support of a coalition, as
7584-502: The parties' representatives. On 8 May 1996, a new text was adopted with the support of 86 per cent of the members of the assembly, but in the First Certification judgment, delivered on 6 September 1996, the Constitutional Court refused to certify this text. The Constitutional Court identified a number of provisions that did not comply with the constitutional principles. Areas of non-compliance included failures to protect
7680-458: The people as a whole (a democracy, such as a republic). Thomas Hobbes stated on their classification: The difference of Commonwealths consisteth in the difference of the sovereign , or the person representative of all and every one of the multitude. And because the sovereignty is either in one man, or in an assembly of more than one; and into that assembly either every man hath right to enter, or not everyone, but certain men distinguished from
7776-432: The power to govern is shared between national and provincial/state governments, creating what is often called a federation . Proponents are often called federalists . Governments are typically organised into distinct institutions constituting branches of government each with particular powers , functions, duties, and responsibilities. The distribution of powers between these institutions differs between governments, as do
7872-524: The previous text. Some dealt with the court's reasons for non-certification, while others tightened up the text. The amended text was returned to the Constitutional Court to be certified, which the court duly did in its Second Certification judgment, delivered on 4 December. The Constitution was signed by President Mandela on 10 December and officially published in the Government Gazette on 18 December. It did not come into force immediately; it
7968-542: The provincial legislature. It provides for an equitable distribution of national revenue to the provinces and municipalities, and grants provincial and local governments the powers to raise certain rates and taxes. It requires effective and transparent budgeting at all levels of government and gives the National Treasury the power to oversee budgetary processes. It places some restrictions on government procurement and government borrowing . The chapter establishes
8064-432: The rest of the country is divided into district municipalities , each of which consists of several local municipalities . After the municipal election of 18 May 2011 there were eight metropolitan municipalities, 44 district municipalities and 226 local municipalities. Municipalities are governed by municipal councils which are elected every five years. The councils of metropolitan and local municipalities are elected by
8160-461: The rest; it is manifest there can be but three kinds of Commonwealth. For the representative must need to be one man or more; and if more, then it is the assembly of all, or but of a part. When the representative is one man, then is the Commonwealth a monarchy; when an assembly of all that will come together, then it is a democracy or popular Commonwealth; when an assembly of a part only, then it
8256-579: The right of employees to engage in collective bargaining; to provide for the constitutional review of ordinary statutes; to entrench fundamental rights, freedoms and civil liberties and to sufficiently safeguard the independence of the Public Protector and Auditor-General as well as other areas of non-compliance in relation to local government responsibilities and powers. The Constitutional Assembly reconvened and, on 11 October, adopted an amended constitutional text containing many changes relative to
8352-473: The structure of the South African judiciary . Previously, the President of the Constitutional Court was responsible for various constitutional responsibilities, such as calling the first session of Parliament after an election and presiding over the election of the President of the Republic at that session, while the Chief Justice was responsible for judicial administration, including for example chairing
8448-414: The structure of the judicial system . It defines the hierarchy consisting of Magistrates' Courts , the High Court , the Supreme Court of Appeal , and the Constitutional Court . It provides for the appointment of judges by the President on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission and establishes a single National Prosecuting Authority responsible for all criminal prosecutions. Chapter 9 creates
8544-405: The structure of the national executive and the powers of the President . It provides for the election and removal of the President by the National Assembly, and limits a President to two five-year terms. It vests in him or her the powers of the head of state and head of government; it provides for the appointment of a Cabinet by the President; and it provides for the accountability to Parliament of
8640-408: The term government is often used more specifically to refer to the approximately 200 independent national governments and subsidiary organizations . The main types of modern political systems recognized are democracies , totalitarian regimes , and, sitting between these two, authoritarian regimes with a variety of hybrid regimes . Modern classification systems also include monarchies as
8736-401: The top and tyranny at the bottom. In his Politics , Aristotle elaborates on Plato's five regimes discussing them in relation to the government of one, of the few, and of the many. From this follows the classification of forms of government according to which people have the authority to rule: either one person (an autocracy , such as monarchy), a select group of people (an aristocracy), or
8832-623: The union into a republic, replacing the Queen with a State President , but otherwise leaving the system of government largely unchanged. In a referendum , the first national election with a solely white electorate, the Act was narrowly approved, with a substantial minority in the Cape province and a strong majority in Natal opposing it. The Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1983 , again approved by
8928-407: Was brought into operation on 4 February 1997, by a presidential proclamation, except for some financial provisions which were delayed until 1 January 1998. The constitution consists of a preamble, fourteen chapters containing 244 sections, and eight schedules. Each chapter deals with a particular topic; the schedules contain ancillary information referred to in the main text. Chapter 1 enshrines in
9024-502: Was the first large country to have a Communist government. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall , liberal democracy has become an even more prevalent form of government. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, there was a significant increase in the size and scale of government at the national level. This included the regulation of corporations and the development of the welfare state . In political science, it has long been
9120-415: Was the process by which such a constitution would be adopted. The African National Congress (ANC) insisted that it should be drawn up by a democratically elected constituent assembly , while the governing National Party (NP) feared that the rights of minorities would not be protected in such a process, and proposed instead that the constitution be negotiated by consensus between the parties and then put to
9216-505: Was the size of the supermajority that would be required for the assembly to adopt the constitution: The NP wanted a 75 per cent requirement, which would effectively have given it a veto. In April 1993, the parties returned to negotiations, in what was known as the Multi-Party Negotiating Process (MPNP). A committee of the MPNP proposed the development of a collection of "constitutional principles" with which
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