Chapter 5C – CCTSA

THE NEW SOUTH AFRICA

THE CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY

The 400 newly-elected members of the National Assembly and the 90 members of the Senate met as a Constitutional Assembly with the task of drafting a new Constitution within two years, within the framework of the 34 constitutional principles in the 1993 Constitution.

Cyril Ramaphosa of the ANC was the chair of the Constitutional Assembly, and Leon Wessels of the National Party was the deputy chair.

Cyril Ramaphosa and Leon Wessels

The Constitutional Assembly was assisted in its work by:

a 46-member multi-party constitutional committee which coordinated the Constitution-making process and acted as the principal negotiating forum;
a seven-member panel of independent constitutional experts which assisted the Constitutional Assembly and its various bodies with constitutional advice and helped to resolve impasses;
a 12-member management committee which prepared agendas and reports for the constitutional committee; and
a 120-member administration headed by Hassen Ebrahim that provided technical and legal research and financial assistance for the Constitution-drafting process.

Constitutional Assembly diagram