Land expropriation: What it takes to change the Constitution

What does it take to change the Constitution?

A change to Section 25 will require a supporting vote of at least two-thirds (267) of the total number of members of the National Assembly (NA).

In addition, 6 of the 9 provinces of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) must also agree to such an amendment.

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However, an amendment is context sensitive and the procedures to be followed depend on the content of the specific amendment.

Some MPs could then argue that the changes could have an impact on some of the values of the Constitution - including the achievement of equality, rule of law, non-racialism, human dignity and the supremacy of the Constitution.

Should this be the case, an amendment to Chapter 1 would require a supporting vote of at least 75% (300) of members of the NA.

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The ANC currently has 249 members in the NA - they will have to seek another 18 votes from opposition parties to secure a two-thirds majority.

Where do the other parties stand?

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has 89 seats in the National Assembly followed by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) with 25.

It is highly unlikely that the official opposition will vote with the ANC as it already said that it will oppose the amendment in Parliament.

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The EFF on the other hand seems confident that it could sway the ANC to rather vote with the red berets.

The contentious issue between these two parties lie in the ownership of land once it has been expropriated.

The ANC made it clear it plans to hand out title deeds to the new owners, while the EFF stands strong in its belief that the state should become the owner of all land.