Fifth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa

The Fifth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa made two technical changes, one relating to national election procedures and the other to the membership of the Financial and Fiscal Commission.

It was enacted by the Parliament of South Africa, signed by Acting President Thabo Mbeki on 17 March 1999, and came into force two days later.

It was signed and came into force simultaneously with the Fourth Amendment; the two amendments were separated because the Fourth involved provincial matters and had to be passed by the National Council of Provinces while the Fifth did not.

The first was to clarify that, when the term of the National Assembly is due to expire, the President may issue the proclamation calling an election either before or after the term actually expires.

The Fourth Amendment made the same change for elections to provincial legislatures.