Ninth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa

The Ninth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa modified the scheme for the allocation of seats in the National Council of Provinces, to account for the possibility of changes in the party makeup of provincial legislatures.

This was necessary because of other legislation which had been introduced to allow members of the provincial legislatures to cross the floor (move from one party to another) without losing their seats.

The bill was initially passed by the National Assembly on 11 June 2002 with 280 votes in favour, more than the requisite two-thirds majority.

[2] The amendments were approved by the National Assembly on 19 June with 287 votes in favour,[3] and the bill was signed by President Thabo Mbeki on the same day.

On 4 October 2002, in the case of United Democratic Movement v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others, the Constitutional Court declared the Loss or Retention of Membership Act to be unconstitutional.