Approval of a constitutional amendment bill requires a two-thirds majority of total membership of the National Assembly, i.e. 224 of 336 members. Each clause and schedule is voted on separately and must pass with a two-thirds majority. If a constitutional amendment alters provincial boundaries, the relevant Provincial Assembly must also pass it with a two-thirds majority.
Why it matters for the National Assembly proceedings?
The two-thirds majority requirement for constitutional amendments is a deliberate barrier to majority-rule revision of foundational law. It ensures that any change to the Constitution reflects very broad parliamentary consensus. The clause-by-clause voting requirement prevents an amendment bill from being passed wholesale without members examining each specific change.
What is in it for citizens?
For citizens, the super-majority requirement means that a government with a simple parliamentary majority cannot change the Constitution alone. It must secure opposition or coalition support for each constitutional change. The observable test is whether, in each clause vote, the two-thirds threshold was actually met, and whether the recorded votes are available for public verification.
Read more on how many votes each constitutional amendment has received in the past.
Source: Rule 156, Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007
The proceedings of the National Assembly are governed by the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007. The current rules were passed on 23 February 2007 and have since been amended 21 times, most recently on 22 October 2024.
This post is part of FAFEN’s series on parliamentary literacy. Read more of this series here.
