26th South African Parliament

The 26th South African Parliament was the fifth Parliament of South Africa to convene since the introduction of non-racial government in South Africa in 1994. It was elected in the general election of 7 May 2014 and consists of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces. The National Assembly contains 400 members, while the National Council of Provinces contains 90 members. Members of Parliament were sworn in on 21 May 2014. The 26th parliament first convened on 21 May 2014 to elect Jacob Zuma as the fifth democratically elected President of South Africa. It was formally opened by president Zuma's State of the Nation Address in a joint sitting on 17 June 2014.

13 Different political parties are represented in this parliament. The majority party in the 25th parliament, the African National Congress (ANC) retained its majority, although it was reduced to 249 (62%) seats, down from 264 seats out of 400 (66%), while the Democratic Alliance (DA) increased its lead of the opposition, taking 89 (22.23%) seats, up from 67 seats (16.75%) in the National Assembly of the 25th parliament. The Speaker of the National Assembly, Baleka Mbete and Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Thandi Modise, both of the ANC, were elected on 21 May 2014 by members of parliament. The presiding officers of parliament, Mmatlala Boroto, Cedric Frolick and Thoko Didiza were elected on 18 June 2014.

Mmusi Maimane was elected parliamentary Leader of the Opposition in a DA election in May 2014.