Tenth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa

The Tenth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa altered the provisions relating to membership of the National Assembly and the provincial legislatures, to allow members of those bodies to cross the floor (move from one party to another) at certain times without losing their seats.

This schedule allowed MPs and MPLs to cross the floor without losing their seats, but only during certain window periods.

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 it to be unconstitutional.

A week later a draft of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Fourth Amendment Bill was published.

The bill was passed by the National Assembly on 25 February 2003 with 300 votes in favour, more than the required two-thirds majority.