Republic of South Africa Constitution Amendment Act, 1981

by enacted by the Parliament of South Africa

Act

To amend the Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1961, to provide for the continued membership of certain members of the House of Assembly for limited periods as from the polling day for a general election; the correction of errors in the description of the boundaries of electoral divisions under certain circumstances; and the alteration of names of electoral divisions by proclamation by the State President; to repeal subsection (4) of section 37 of the Republic of South Africa Constitution Fifth Amendment Act, 1980; and to provide for matters connected therewith.

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(English text signed by the State President.)
(Assented to 23 February 1981.)

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Be it enacted by the State President and the House of Assembly of the Republic of South Africa, as follows:―

Amendment of section 40 of Act 32 of 1961, as amended by section 1 of Act 83 of 1965, section 4 of Act 50 of 1968, section 81 of Act 79 of 1973, Proclamation No. R.249 of 1977 and section 17 of Act 101 of 1980.

1. Section 40 of the Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1961, is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (1B) of the following subsections:

“(1C) Any person who―

(a)		has been nominated from a province as a member of the House of Assembly in terms of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section or elected as such a member in terms of paragraph (c) of that subsection; and
(b)		in terms of section 53 is a member of the House of Assembly on the day immediately preceding the polling day for the election referred to in paragraph (a) of the said subsection which is held in pursuance of any dissolution of the House of Assembly; and
(c)		is not elected as a member of the House of Assembly at such election,

shall, during the period which in terms of subsection (1D) of this section is applicable in his case, be deemed to have been nominated from the province concerned in terms of the said paragraph (b) or elected in terms of the said paragraph (c), as the case may be, as a member of the House of Assembly on that polling day.

(1D) Any person who is a member of the House of Assembly in terms of the provisions of subsection (1C) shall cease to be such a member in terms of those provisions―

(a)		in the case of a person deemed in terms of the said provisions to have been nominated from a particular province as a member in terms of paragraph (b) of subsection (1), on the day immediately preceding the day on which a member is in terms of that paragraph nominated from the province concerned in pursuance of the dissolution of the House of Assembly referred to in the said provisions, or, if a member is not so nominated within the period of one hundred and eighty days after that dissolution, at the expiration of that period; and
(b)		in the case of a person so deemed to have been elected as a member in terms of paragraph (c) of subsection (1), on the day immediately preceding the first day on which members are elected in terms of that paragraph in pursuance of the said dissolution of the House of Assembly or, if no members are so elected within the period of one hundred and eighty days after that dissolution, at the expiration of that period: Provided that if such person is so elected but not on such first day, he shall be deemed to have remained a member of the House of Assembly up to and including the day immediately preceding the day on which he is so elected.”.

Amendment of section 44 of Act 32 of 1961.

2. Section 44 of the Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1961, is hereby amended―

(a)

by the substitution for subsection (4) of the following subsection:

“(4) If any discrepancy arises between the description of the divisions and the aforesaid map or maps, the description or, if the description has been amended in terms of subsection (5), the description as so amended, shall prevail.”; and

(b)

by the addition of the following subsections:

“(5)  (a)		If the commission is satisfied that any such discrepancy as aforesaid is due to an error in the description of the boundaries of any division, it shall in writing inform the State President accordingly and submit an amendment of the relevant description, correcting the error and certified by the commission, to the State President, unless the period allowed in terms of paragraph (c) for such an amendment has expired.
(b)		Subject to the provisions of paragraph (c), the State President shall by proclamation in the Gazette make known any amendment submitted to him in terms of paragraph (a), and thereafter, until there shall be a re-division, the boundaries as so amended shall be the boundaries of the division concerned.
(c)		No description of the boundaries of any division shall be amended under this subsection after the date on which the proclamation in respect of the first general election held after the completion of the relevant re-division is published in the Gazette in terms of section 34 of the Electoral Act, 1979 (Act No. 45 of 1979).

(6)  (a)		The State President may by proclamation in the Gazette alter the name of any division as made known under subsection (3).
(b)		The name given to any division under paragraph (a) shall, notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (3), be the name of that division until there shall be a re-division.”.

Amendment of section 37 of Act 101 of 1980.

3. Section 37 of the Republic of South Africa Constitution Fifth Amendment Act, 1980, is hereby amended by the deletion of subsection (4).

Short title.

4. This Act shall be called the Republic of South Africa Constitution Amendment Act, 1981.