Following the recent National and Provincial elections, South Africa’s new National Assembly will gather for its first Parliamentary sitting today in Cape Town.

Proceedings are expected to start at 10:00.

Watch the sitting live here:

What to expect from the sitting

First off, members of Parliament will be sworn in by taking the prescribed oath or affirmation, which will be administered by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.

“This is an oath or affirmation of faithfulness to the Republic and obedience to the Constitution which Section 48 of the Constitution requires members of the National Assembly to take before they may perform their duties as members of the National Assembly,” a recent statement by Zondo reads.

Then, a speaker and deputy speaker of Parliament will be elected. Thereafter, the president of South Africa will be elected.

National Council of Provinces

The first sitting of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) is expected to be held on Saturday.

“The chief justice will swear in and administer the prescribed affirmation to members of the NCOP and thereafter preside over the election of the chairperson of the NCOP. Thereafter, the chairperson of the NCOP will preside over the election of the deputy chairperson of the NCOP,” the statement said.

According to the office, judges-president in the provinces have been designated by the chief justice to ‘determine the first sittings of the provincial legislatures in their respective provinces’.

“In terms of the Constitution such sittings are also required to take place not more than 14 days after the declaration of election results. The judges-president will administer the prescribed oath or affirmation to members of the provincial legislatures, preside over the election of the speaker of the legislature and the election of the premier,” the statement said.

The sitting of the National Assembly and the NCOP will be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

Also read: ConCourt dismisses MK Party’s bid to block Parliament sitting