Under the
1980 Constitution, 20 of the 100 seats in the House of Assembly were
reserved for the country's
white minority, although whites and other ethnic minorities made up only 5% of the population at the time. These seats were abolished by
constitutional amendment in 1987. This size of 100 seats was used for two elections, the
1980 election held immediately before independence and the
1985 election. The
1990 election was the first election after the abolition of the white-reserved seats, and also expanded the House of Assembly to 120 seats, a size which was retained for the
1995 and
2000 elections. With the
2005 election, the House of Assembly was expanded to 150 members. 120 members were directly elected in single member
constituencies using the plurality (or
first-past-the-post) system. The
President appointed twelve additional members and eight
provincial governors who held reserved seats in the House. The remaining ten seats were held by traditional chiefs who were chosen by their peers. All members served five-year terms. Following the
2008 election, the House of Assembly was expanded to 210 seats and composed entirely of elected representatives. The appointed and
ex officio members were transferred to the Senate. The
Seventh House of Assembly was opened on August 26, 2008. The additional system of 60 seats reserved for women was established for the
2013 election. An additional 10 seats - one for each Province - reserved for a youth quota was established for the
2023 election. ==See also==