Election Profile:

Flag of South Africa Source for election date

At stake in this election:

  • 400 seats in the National Assembly

Description of government structure:

  • Chief of State: President Kgalema MOTLANTHE
  • Head of Government: President Kgalema MOTLANTHE
  • Assembly: South Africa has a bicameral Parliament consisting of the National Assembly with 400 seats and the National Council of Provinces with 90 seats.

Description of electoral system:

  • The President is elected by the National Assembly to serve a 5-year term.
  • In the National Assembly, 200 members are elected by popular vote via proportional representation to serve 5-year terms and 200 members are elected by popular vote via proportional representation*. In the National Council of Provinces, 54 members are nominated by regional legislatures and 36 members are nominated by regional legislatures.**

* In the regional tier there are 9 multi-member districts, each corresponding to a province, with seats allocated in proportion to population. In both tiers, the electoral system is closed list proportional representation.

** There is an additional, non-voting 10-member delegation from the South African Local Government Association (SALGA).

Main parties in the electoral race:

  • Party: African National Congress (ANC)
    Leader: Jacob ZUMA
    Seats won in this National Assembly election: 264
    Seats won in last National Assembly election: 279
  • Party: African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP)
    Leader: Kenneth MESHOE
    Seats won in this National Assembly election: 3
    Seats won in last National Assembly election: 6
  • Party: Congress of the People (COPE)***
    Leader: Mosiuoa LEKOTA
    Seats won in this National Assembly election: 30
    Seats won in last National Assembly election: 0
  • Party: Democratic Alliance (DA)
    Leader: Helen ZILLE
    Seats won in this National Assembly election: 67
    Seats won in last National Assembly election: 50
  • Party: Freedom Front Plus (FF+)*****
    Leader: Pieter MULDER
    Seats won in this National Assembly election: 4
    Seats won in last National Assembly election: 0
  • Party: Inkatha Freedom Party (INK)
    Leader: Mangosuthu BUTHELEZI
    Seats won in this National Assembly election: 18
    Seats won in last National Assembly election: 28
  • Party: Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC)
    Leader: N/A
    Seats won in this National Assembly election: 1
    Seats won in last National Assembly election: 3
  • Party: United Democratic Movement (UDM)
    Leader: Bantu HOLOMISA
    Seats won in this National Assembly election: 4
    Seats won in last National Assembly election: 9
  • Party: Independent Democrats (ID)
    Leader: Patricia DE LILLE
    Seats won in this National Assembly election: 4
    Seats won in last National Assembly election: 0
  • Party: United Christian Democratic Party (UCDP)
    Leader: Lucas MANGOPE
    Seats won in this National Assembly election: 2
    Seats won in last National Assembly election: 3
  • Party: African People's Convention (APC)
    Leader: Themba GODI
    Seats won in this National Assembly election: 1
    Seats won in last National Assembly election: 0
  • Party: Azanian People's Organization (AZAPO)
    Leader: Mosibudi MANGENA
    Seats won in this National Assembly election: 1
    Seats won in last National Assembly election: 0
  • Party: Minority Front (MF)
    Leader: Amichand RAJBANSI
    Seats won in this National Assembly election: 1
    Seats won in last National Assembly election: 0

*** COPE formed in 2008 by former members of the ANC
***** Formerly Freedom Front.

Population and number of registered voters:

  • Population: 49,052,489 (July 2009 est.)
  • Registered Voters: 23,181,997 (April 2009 )

Last Updated on 10/17/2007