The stage was set at Parliament on Wednesday for MPs and members of the provincial legislatures to switch parties, possibly even as early as next month.
The National Assembly’s justice committee has approved draft legislation to change the Constitution and allow politicians to cross the floor at national and provincial level, as is already the case at municipalities.
It was passed with little fuss, although the United Democratic Movement, African Christian Democratic Party and Inkatha Freedom Party voted against the measure.
The IFP last month threatened an early election in KwaZulu-Natal over an earlier version of the Constitution of South Africa Fourth Amendment Bill.
The African National Congress and Democratic Alliance were united in their support for defections, making the bill’s passage through the National Assembly on Tuesday a foregone conclusion.
A two-thirds majority is required for constitutional amendments. The measure will then be referred to the National Council of Provinces for concurrence and finally, possibly in early March, to President Thabo Mbeki for his assent.
After that, MPs and MPLs will have 15 days to switch parties, provided at least 10% of a party’s members in the respective House decide to move.
The DA has suggested the defection period be reduced to seven days, but declined to table the motion in the committee on Wednesday.
Justice Minister Penuell Maduna earlier this month requested a controversial ”reinstatement” clause be removed from the bill, in line with an agreement reached between the ANC and the IFP.
The provision sought to protect five members of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature who jumped the gun last year and announced their intention to defect to the ANC.
They were duly expelled by their parties — the DA, IFP and UDM — after the UDM launched a Constitutional Court challenge, effectively putting off the defection ”window” period.
The retrospective clause would have seen the five reinstated as MPLs for the ANC, and had led to the IFP threatening to call an early election in the province.
UDM justice representative Jakes Maseka said on Wednesday his party reserved the right to, again, challenge floor-crossings in the Constitutional Court.
”We may approach the court up to the last minute before the president signs,” he warned.
The bill, however, is virtually identical to legislation for local government defections given the green light by the court last year, making a challenge unlikely. – I-Net-Bridge