Election of North West Premier cancelled
6 June 2018
The Democratic Alliance (DA) is not surprised that the election of the North West Premier has been postponed until further notice.
This follows the cancellation of a special sitting that was convened for Friday 8 June 2018for the sole purpose of filling the vacancy of a Premier.
In terms of Section 128 of the Constitution, subsection 3 “an election to fill a vacancy in the Office of the Premier must be held at a time and on a date determined by the President of the Constitutional Court, but not later than 30 days after the vacancy occurs". The Judge President of the North West High Court, Honourable Madam Justice Monica Leeuw had indicated to the Legislature her availability on Friday to swear in the newly elected Premier.
The North West has been without a Premier for almost a month since former Premier Supra Mahumapelo’s initial resignation. The DA is therefore concerned that awaiting a next possible date for the swearing in of a new Premier will take up too much time.