KZN premier-elect Sihle Zikalala to be sworn in on Wednesday

KwaZulu-Natal premier-elect Sihle Zikalala will be sworn in as head of the province by  KZN judge president Achmat Jappie in Pietermaritzburg on Wednesday.

Zikalala is expected to give a brief address to members of the provincial legislature. This will be followed by another short address by the newly elected speaker of the provincial legislature, who will then preside over the election of the deputy speaker.

PODCAST | Sunday Times Politics Weekly – Will corruption reign again?

Subscribe: iono.fm | Spotify | Apple Podcast | Pocket Casts | Player.fm

The first sitting of the sixth KZN legislature will also include the swearing in of all members of the eight political parties who got seats in the legislature: the ANC, IFP, DA, EFF, MF, NFP, ACDP and ATM. The ceremony will be presided over by Judge Jappie.

The ANC received 54.22% of the votes in the recent elections - a decline from the 65.3% it achieved in 2014.

The IFP regained its status as the official opposition after garnering 16.34% of the votes, dislodging the DA, which got 13.4%. The EFF became the fourth-largest party in the province with 9.71% of the votes.

In 2014 the IFP lost its status as official opposition in the province to the DA, but the party has made a stunning comeback since the 2016 local government elections, changing the political landscape in the province by regaining outright majorities in several KZN municipalities.

The business of the day on Wednesday will conclude with the adoption of the standing rules of the KZN legislature, the appointment of permanent delegates to the national council of provinces (NCOP), resolutions per party and the nominations of a chairperson and deputy chairpersons of the NCOP.