The House of Delegates (Afrikaans: Raad van Afgevaardigdes) was a body in the Tricameral ParliamentofSouth Africa which existed from 1984 to 1994. It was reserved for Indian South Africans. The body was elected twice; in 1984 and 1989. It was the second time in South Africa's history that Indians had ever had any sort of representation at the national level, the first being the South African Indian Council. It was originally to be called the Chamber of Deputies.[2]
House of Delegates
Raad van Afgevaardigdes
| |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Established | 1984 |
| Disbanded | 1994 |
| Preceded by | South African Indian Council |
| Succeeded by | National Assembly |
| Elections | |
| First-past-the-post | |
Last election | 6 September 1989 |
| Meeting place | |
| Marks Building Cape Town, Cape Province (until 1987) New Assembly Building Houses of Parliament, Cape Town[1] | |
The first debating chamber of the House of Delegates was located in Marks Building, a building that was located across the road from Houses of Parliament, Cape Town. [3] Upon its completion in 1987, the house was moved to a debating chamber on the floor above the new chamber designed for joint-sittings of the Tricameral Parliament.[4] The executive arm of the House of Delegates was a Ministers' Council, led by a Chairman. The civil service that dealt with Indian "own affairs" (including education, health and welfare, local government, housing and agriculture)[5] was called Administration: House of Delegates, and was based in Durban.[5][6][7]
Electoral turnouts for elections to the House of Delegates were poor.[7]
Election results:
| Election | Date | Total seats | National People's Party | Solidarity | Others | Indep. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 election | 28 August 1984 | 40 | 18 | 17 | 1 | 4 |
| 1989 election | 6 September 1989 | 40 | 8 | 16 | 10 | 6 |
The following served as Chairman of the Minister's Council of the House of Delegates:[8]