Journal for Contemporary History 40(1) / Joernaal vir Eietydse Geskiedenis 40(1): 41-58 © UV/UFS • ISSN 0285-2422 THE ROLE OF THE SPEAKER IN POST- APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA: POLITICAL IMPARTIALITY OR PARTISANSHIP? PAH Labuschagne1 and CJ Napier2 Abstract The role of the Speaker in the South African Parliament has recently being steeped in controversy when the sitting Speaker, Ms Baleka Mbete, was accused of partiality and strong partisanship towards the ruling party. This controversy highlighted the cardinally important role of a Speaker in parliament to ensure impartiality and fairness to all political parties. The South African Parliament is based on the British Westminster system in which the impartiality of the Speaker is accorded a very high premium and a distinguishing feature of that legislature. The aim of this article is to investigate the office of the Speaker with reference to its historical background and development as an official position in a parliamentary system. The purpose is to highlight the Speaker’s important role, not only as the chairperson of the National Assembly, but also as the custodian of the powers and the dignity of the Assembly. The article also points out the inherent dangers of the Speaker’s embrace of partisan interests above that of parliament and the implications for the future role of the institution. Keywords: Speaker; Westminster parliamentary system; South African parliament; power; procedures. Sleutelwoorde: Speaker; Westminster parlementêre stelsel; Suid-Afrikaanse parlement; mag; prosedures. 1. INTRODUCTION The speakership of parliament is an official position within the parliamentary system of government and is of critical importance on multiple levels. The position is not only critical in relation to the foundational history of the institution, but also in the modern era to ensure the effective functioning of parliament both at a political and management level. The speakership of parliament consists of an office and a person – an elected member who holds that office. However, in South Africa the Speaker’s position has been compromised, as argued in this article, and has raised concerns about its future status, role, powers and ability to ensure fair debate in parliament. 1 Professor and Chair, Department of Political Sciences, University of South Africa. E-mail [email protected] 2 Associate Professor and Subject Head of African Politics, Department of Political Sciences, University of South Africa. E-mail: [email protected] 41 JCH / JEG 40(1) June/Junie 2015 The Speaker of parliament – the holder of that office in a parliamentary system – could in general terms be described as a chairperson of a special kind. This broad understanding of the role of a Speaker, however, simplifies the Speaker’s all-encompassing historical and symbolic complexity. As will be explained in the article, the Speaker and the roles that he/she plays are pivotal to the success and the orderly functioning of parliament. The “chairperson” of the British House of Commons was historically named “Speaker”, because the incumbent, then just an ordinary member of the House, was the person who spoke on behalf of members of the House of Commons when the institution was still developing in the 16th century. The principle task of the Speaker at the time was to submit petitions to the King on behalf of members of the House of Commons (Wiechers 1983:272). However, in its symbolic context and in full understanding of the Speaker’s status and position, his or her role amounts to much more than just a chairperson of a legislature. In reality, the value and importance of the position exceeds that of an ordinary chairperson by far. On a broader level the Speaker represents the powers and the dignity of parliament, the history, the tradition and embraces and represents the deeper values of the institution (emphasis added). The office of the “chairperson” or Speaker has developed over centuries in tandem with the historical development of parliaments. The position of the Speaker in the majority of modern parliaments is unmistakeably a pivotal figure of critical importance in view of the composition and divided nature of legislatures along party, class and personality lines. The importance of a dignified and impartial Speaker is essential for a fully functioning parliament (Rautenbach and Malherbe 1996:124). When the image of a Speaker gets tarnished, then the dignity, credibility and legitimacy of that institution will also be under threat. During South African parliamentary sessions in 2014, recent developments regarding the impartiality of the Speaker are therefore unsettling for the pursuit of vigorous parliamentary debate and democracy. The question marks and concerns about the Speaker’s impartiality have drawn the office of the Speaker and the incumbent of the office into the centre of fierce national debate. The impartiality of the Speaker’s role was heavily debated in the media, among political parties and within civil society (Pretoria News 2014a; 2014b). In an almost unprecedented step the parliamentary opposition united and demanded in a strongly worded motion, tabled in August 2014, that the Speaker, Ms Baleka Mbete, be removed from office as a result of her alleged partisanship towards the ruling party and her lack of impartiality. Although the motion was defeated when the ruling African National Congress (ANC) used its majority in the National Assembly to defeat the motion, the determination of the opposition to end what they termed the partiality of the Speaker was a rare event in the parliamentary history of the country (Beeld 2014). 42 Labuschagne & Napier • The role of the Speaker in post-apartheid South Africa The motion was followed by a further request in November 2014 for the Speaker to leave office when opposition members of parliament (MPs) chanted, “You must go” during a parliamentary uproar to which the Speaker responded, “You wish”. This uproar was provoked by the Speaker’s ruling on the order paper of the day (Speaker of parliament 2015). The controversy surrounding the sitting Speaker’s lack of impartiality and her perceived partisanship are uncommon in Westminster systems. The British Westminster system has over the centuries developed conventions and unwritten rules on how to ensure the impartiality of the Speaker. In a general election in the United Kingdom, for example, when the sitting Speaker stands in a constituency, the opposition parties would not oppose his or her re-election. This is done on the historical understanding and convention that the Speaker should not be opposed as long as he or she refrained from discussing party politics in the run up to the election (Barry 2004:115). In the parliamentary history of South Africa during the pre-democratic phase (1910-1994), the Speaker’s position and rulings were relatively controversy free and the matter of his or her impartiality never surfaced very strongly. As referred to below, this is borne out by references made to Speakers of the period by some of those members who differed strongly with the Speaker’s party of origin. This tradition has been maintained throughout the early phase of the era of democracy, when consecutive Speakers set a good example by elevating themselves above party politics, serving the broad interests of parliament. The tradition of impartiality was maintained by Dr Frene Ginwala, the Speaker in the first South African democratic parliament (1994-2004). Much of the controversy around the speakers arose from about 2004 onwards, as referred to below. The actions of Ms Baleka Mbete, the current (2014-2015) Speaker of parliament, and the accusations of partisanship and a lack of impartiality levelled against her, have moved the office of the Speaker into the public domain and into the centre of controversy. The feature of a dignified and impartial Speaker, which is the characteristic of a well-functioning parliament, was suddenly put in doubt and at risk. The logical fear was that the questioning of the impartiality of the Speaker would undermine the status of the legislature whose stature and importance has been globally on the decline (Jackson and Jackson 1996:57). 2. AIM AND FOCUS OF THE ARTICLE The introductory section has served as a background to the focus in the article. The aim and focus of the article is to emphasise the important role and functions of the Speaker in the Westminster parliamentary model in relation to the partiality or impartiality of the position. The focus in this article will be narrowed to an 43 JCH / JEG 40(1) June/Junie 2015 examination of the parliamentary or Westminster model, rather than the presidential model of government. By examining the history and development of the position of the Speaker, a conclusion will be drawn as to whether a Speaker can function as an impartial chairperson despite his or her political party affiliation. The focus of the article is to emphasise the importance of the Speaker’s role to guide debate in a deeply divided legislature with dignity and to reflect and personalise parliament’s historical values. The aim of the article is therefore to: i. provide a short review of the literature sources on the Speakership. ii. explain the evolutionary position of the Speaker with specific reference to its historical development in Britain. iii. outline the historical and constitutional development of the position of the Speaker in South Africa and also to examine the role of the Speaker in relation to the parliamentary rules in South Africa. iv. reflect on the importance of the office of the Speaker to be impartial and dignified and to reflect these values in the National Assembly. 2.1 Literature on the office of Speaker The office and role of a Speaker in general has not received a great deal of scholarly attention in the literature and more particularly in the South African context.