Will the NA be dissolved? When does its term of office expire?

Parliament is elected for a term of five years. Whenever there is a general election, a new parliament is constituted.

In terms of section 49 of the Constitution, a proclamation calling and setting dates for an election may be issued before or after the expiry of the term of the National Assembly (NA). The President has proclaimed the date of the general election as 29 May 2024.

So there are two scenarios for Parliament in the year of a general election – expiry or dissolution

The term of the current Parliament expires at midnight on 21 May 2024. The term is determined on the basis of the first sitting of the NA after the elections (in 2019, the first sitting was on 22 May 2019).

Because the election is after the expiry of the term, there is no need to dissolve the NA; it will expire. If the elections were set before 21 May, then the NA would need to be dissolved.

It is interesting to see what happened in previous years:

 

What is the competency of the NA until Election Day?

The Assembly remains competent to perform its functions from the time it is dissolved or its term expires, until the day before the first day of polling for the next Assembly. So from 21 May to 28 May midnight, the NA can meet for any business.

 

What happens to lapsed business?

In terms of Parliament’s Rules, business before the legislature lapses when the term of that Parliament ends, or when Parliament is dissolved.

When a bill or another matter lapses, the new Assembly can, by way of a motion in the House, revive the matter. Such motions sometimes state that the matter be revived “from the stage it reached on the last sitting day of the House (of the previous House)….”

As was the case in previous Parliaments, the Appropriation Bill, as part of the national budget, will lapse and may need to be revived. This will likely be at the stage of budget vote debates. Parliament must pass the Appropriations Bill, with or without changes, or reject it, within four months of the start of the financial year (end of July).

 

Read more https://pmg.org.za/blog/LAPSEDBILLS

Source: parliament.gov.za