Photo: @WCProvParl / Twitter
Photo: @WCProvParl / Twitter
If there’s a Parliamentary system more entertaining than the one in South Africa, we’re yet to hear about it. We know there are all sorts of strange traditions behind the massive doors of the National Assembly, but this from the Western Cape Provincial Legislature really takes the biscuit.
Masizole Mnqasela was elected as the speaker for the regional chambers over the next five years. The DA candidate won the vote by a comfortable majority against his ANC rival, in a ballot which also included six spoilt slips.
Why the Western Cape speaker was dragged to his seat
However, this would be no standard procedure in the Western Cape: Mnqasela’s joy seemed to be short-lived, as two of his fellow MPL’s grab him by the arms and dragged him to the front, where he must officially accept his seat. We’re used to seeing a bit of argy-bargy in Parly, but this scaled new heights of ridiculousness. Yet we can explain…
The WC Legislature had to explain the process five years ago, as the same fate befell another unsuspecting candidate. A long-standing tradition dictates that the new speaker should be dragged across the room when accepting their position. But how did it all begin?
Judge Pres of the Western Cape High Court, John Hlope, announces the duly elected Speaker of the WCPP, Masizole Mnqasela. As is tradition, the Member resists the election and is strong-armed to the chair @mnqasela https://t.co/DkGWgDTg9L #SixthParliament pic.twitter.com/ADLZMVHhE9
— WesternCapeProvParl (@WCProvParl) May 22, 2019
It’s a British thing…
Well, this ancient banter stretches all the way back to 14th-century Britain. It has been well documented that being the speaker in medieval times was a thankless task, as one would often have to report to the monarchy as a messenger. If they delivered bad news, they ran the risk of being beheaded.
So the “pretend struggle” to the front is something of an “Easter Egg” for history buffs. When responding to a question – from none other than Helen Zille – during the genesis of the fifth Parliament, Former Deputy Speaker Piet Pretorius said that “about 13 people” had lost their heads for bringing unpopular messages. In the UK, that is…
So, there you have it. The next time you see an MP being dragged along the floors of Parliament, you can chalk it down to tradition. Well, unless it involves the new contingent of EFF and Freedom Front Plus MPs. Then you can just assume that a few arguments have boiled over.
Watch the bizarre Western Cape tradition of “dragging” the speaker here:
#WCLegislature 12 votes for Lekker, 23 for Mnqasela & 2 spoilt votes. Masizole Mnqasela is the new speaker, two DA MPLs playfully pull him to the front. MM pic.twitter.com/myEAafs1tX
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) May 22, 2019
