Politics of South Africa
Encyclopedia
The Republic of South Africa is a unitary
, parliamentary
republic. The President of South Africa
is both head of state
and head of government
; in the same manner as the prime minister of other nations, the President is elected by the National Assembly
(the lower house
of the South African Parliament
) and must enjoy the confidence of the Assembly in order to remain in office. South Africans also elect provincial legislatures
which govern in respect of each of the country's nine provinces
.
Since the end of apartheid, South Africa's politics has been dominated by the African National Congress
(ANC). The ANC is the ruling party in the national legislature, as well as in eight of the nine provinces, having received 65.9% of the vote during the 2009 general election
and 62.9% of the popular
vote in the 2011 municipal election. The main challenger to the ANC's rule is the Democratic Alliance, led by Helen Zille
, which received 16.66% of the vote in the 2009 election and 24.1% of the popular vote in the 2011 election. Other major political parties represented in Parliament are the Inkatha Freedom Party
, which mainly represents Zulu voters, with 4.55%; and the Congress of the People with 7.42% in the 2009 election. The formerly dominant New National Party, who both introduced and ended apartheid through its predecessor the National Party
, disbanded in 2005 to merge with the ANC. The current South African president is Jacob Zuma
.
representative democratic
republic, wherein the President of South Africa
, elected by parliament, is the head of government
, and of a multi-party system
. Executive power
is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of Parliament
, the Council of Provinces
and the National Assembly
. The Judiciary
is independent of the executive and the legislature. Government is three-tiered, with representatives being elected at the national, provincial and local levels.
(CA) to draft and approve a permanent constitution by 9 May 1996.
The Government of National Unity
(GNU) established under the interim constitution ostensibly remained in effect until the 1999 national elections. The parties originally comprising the GNU – the African National Congress
(ANC), the National Party
(NP), and the Inkatha Freedom Party
(IFP) – shared executive power. On 30 June 1996, the NP withdrew from the GNU to become part of the opposition.
and head of government
.
, the second in 1999
, the third in 2004
, and the most recent in 2009
. Until 2008, elected officials were allowed to change political party, while retaining their seats, during set windows which occurred twice each electoral term, due to controversial floor crossing
legislative amendments made in 2002. The last two floor crossing windows were in 2005 and 2007.
After the 2009 elections, the ANC lost its two-thirds majority in the national legislature which had allowed it to unilaterally alter the constitution.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions
(COSATU) and the South African Communist Party
(SACP) are in a formal alliance with the ruling ANC, and thus do not stand separately for election.
Citizens' entitlements to a safe environment, housing, education, and health care are included in the bill of rights, and are known as secondary constitutional rights. In 2003 the constitutional secondary rights were used by the HIV/AIDS activist group the Treatment Action Campaign
as a means of forcing the government to change its health policy.
Since the abolition of apartheid, levels of political violence in South Africa have dropped dramatically. Violent crime and organised criminal activity are at high levels and are a grave concern. Partly as a result, vigilante
action and mob justice sometimes occur.
Some members of the police commit abuses, and deaths in police custody as a result of excessive force remain a problem. The government has taken action to investigate and punish some of those who commit such abuses. In April 1997, the government established an Independent Complaints Directorate to investigate deaths in police custody and deaths resulting from police action.
Although South Africa's society is undergoing a rapid transformation, some discrimination against women continues, and discrimination against those living with HIV/AIDS is becoming serious. Violence against women and children is also a serious problem.
s or homelands have had a role in South African politics since their abolition.
Mangosuthu Buthelezi
was chief minister of his Kwa-Zulu
homeland from 1976 until 1994. In post-apartheid South Africa he has served as President of the Inkatha Freedom Party.
He was a Minister in President Mandela's cabinet. He also acted as President of the country when President Nelson Mandela was out of the country.
Bantubonke Holomisa, who was a general in the homeland of Transkei
from 1987, has served as the president of the United Democratic Movement since 1997. Today he is a Member of Parliament.
General Constand Viljoen
is a former chief of the South African Defence Force
, who, as a leader of the Afrikaner Volksfront, sent 1500 of his militiamen to prop up the government of Lucas Mangope
and to contest the termination of Bophuthatswana
as a homeland in 1994. He co-founded the Freedom Front in 1994. He has retired from being a Member of Parliament.
Lucas Mangope, former chief of the Motsweda Ba hurutshe-Boo-Manyane tribe of the Tswana, ex-president of the former bantustan of Bophuthatswana
, is the current leader of the United Christian Democratic Party.
Unitary state
A unitary state is a state governed as one single unit in which the central government is supreme and any administrative divisions exercise only powers that their central government chooses to delegate...
, parliamentary
Parliamentary system
A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....
republic. The President of South Africa
President of South Africa
The President of the Republic of South Africa is the head of state and head of government under South Africa's Constitution. From 1961 to 1994, the head of state was called the State President....
is both head of state
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
and head of government
Head of government
Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...
; in the same manner as the prime minister of other nations, the President is elected by the National Assembly
National Assembly of South Africa
The National Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of South Africa, located in Cape Town, Western Cape Province. It consists of no fewer than 350 and no more than 400 members...
(the lower house
Lower house
A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...
of the South African Parliament
Parliament of South Africa
The Parliament of South Africa is South Africa's legislature and under the country's current Constitution is composed of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces....
) and must enjoy the confidence of the Assembly in order to remain in office. South Africans also elect provincial legislatures
Provincial legislature (South Africa)
In South Africa, a provincial legislature is the legislative branch of the government of a province. The provincial legislatures are unicameral and vary in size from 30 to 80 members depending on the population of the province...
which govern in respect of each of the country's nine provinces
Provinces of South Africa
South Africa is currently divided into nine provinces. On the eve of the 1994 general election, South Africa's former homelands, also known as Bantustans, were reintegrated and the four existing provinces were divided into nine. The twelfth, thirteenth and sixteenth amendments to the constitution...
.
Since the end of apartheid, South Africa's politics has been dominated by the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
(ANC). The ANC is the ruling party in the national legislature, as well as in eight of the nine provinces, having received 65.9% of the vote during the 2009 general election
South African general election, 2009
South Africa held national and provincial elections to elect a new National Assembly as well as the provincial legislature in each province on 22 April 2009....
and 62.9% of the popular
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
vote in the 2011 municipal election. The main challenger to the ANC's rule is the Democratic Alliance, led by Helen Zille
Helen Zille
Helen Zille is the Premier of the Western Cape, a member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament, leader of South Africa's opposition Democratic Alliance political party, and a former Mayor of Cape Town.Zille is a former journalist and anti-apartheid activist, and famously exposed the truth...
, which received 16.66% of the vote in the 2009 election and 24.1% of the popular vote in the 2011 election. Other major political parties represented in Parliament are the Inkatha Freedom Party
Inkatha Freedom Party
The Inkatha Freedom Party is a political party in South Africa. Since its founding, it has been led by Mangosuthu Buthelezi. It is currently the fourth largest party in the National Assembly of South Africa.-History:...
, which mainly represents Zulu voters, with 4.55%; and the Congress of the People with 7.42% in the 2009 election. The formerly dominant New National Party, who both introduced and ended apartheid through its predecessor the National Party
National Party (South Africa)
The National Party is a former political party in South Africa. Founded in 1914, it was the governing party of the country from 4 June 1948 until 9 May 1994. Members of the National Party were sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats. Its policies included apartheid, the establishment of a...
, disbanded in 2005 to merge with the ANC. The current South African president is Jacob Zuma
Jacob Zuma
Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is the President of South Africa, elected by parliament following his party's victory in the 2009 general election....
.
South African Government
South Africa is a parliamentaryParliamentary system
A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....
representative democratic
Representative democracy
Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to autocracy and direct democracy...
republic, wherein the President of South Africa
President of South Africa
The President of the Republic of South Africa is the head of state and head of government under South Africa's Constitution. From 1961 to 1994, the head of state was called the State President....
, elected by parliament, is the head of government
Head of government
Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...
, and of a multi-party system
Multi-party system
A multi-party system is a system in which multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition, e.g.The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in the United Kingdom formed in 2010. The effective number of parties in a multi-party system is normally...
. Executive power
Executive Power
Executive Power is Vince Flynn's fifth novel, and the fourth to feature Mitch Rapp, an American agent that works for the CIA as an operative for a covert counter terrorism unit called the "Orion Team."-Plot summary:...
is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of Parliament
Parliament of South Africa
The Parliament of South Africa is South Africa's legislature and under the country's current Constitution is composed of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces....
, the Council of Provinces
National Council of Provinces
The National Council of Provinces is the upper house of the Parliament of South Africa under the constitution which came into full effect in 1997...
and the National Assembly
National Assembly of South Africa
The National Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of South Africa, located in Cape Town, Western Cape Province. It consists of no fewer than 350 and no more than 400 members...
. The Judiciary
Judiciary
The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...
is independent of the executive and the legislature. Government is three-tiered, with representatives being elected at the national, provincial and local levels.
Constitution
Following the 1994 elections, South Africa was governed under an interim constitution. This constitution required the Constituent AssemblyConstituent assembly
A constituent assembly is a body composed for the purpose of drafting or adopting a constitution...
(CA) to draft and approve a permanent constitution by 9 May 1996.
The Government of National Unity
Government of National Unity (South Africa)
Between April 27, 1994 and February 3, 1997 South Africa was governed under the terms of the interim Constitution of South Africa. Clause 88 of the interim Constitution required that any party holding twenty or more seats in the National Assembly could claim one or more cabinet portfolios and enter...
(GNU) established under the interim constitution ostensibly remained in effect until the 1999 national elections. The parties originally comprising the GNU – the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
(ANC), the National Party
National Party (South Africa)
The National Party is a former political party in South Africa. Founded in 1914, it was the governing party of the country from 4 June 1948 until 9 May 1994. Members of the National Party were sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats. Its policies included apartheid, the establishment of a...
(NP), and the Inkatha Freedom Party
Inkatha Freedom Party
The Inkatha Freedom Party is a political party in South Africa. Since its founding, it has been led by Mangosuthu Buthelezi. It is currently the fourth largest party in the National Assembly of South Africa.-History:...
(IFP) – shared executive power. On 30 June 1996, the NP withdrew from the GNU to become part of the opposition.
President
Under the Constitution, the President is both head of stateHead of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
and head of government
Head of government
Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...
.
Political parties and their current vote share
General elections are held every 5 years. The first fully multi-racial democratic election was held in 1994South African general election, 1994
The South African general election of 1994 was an election held in South Africa to mark the end of apartheid, therefore also the first held with universal adult suffrage. The election was conducted under the direction of the Independent Electoral Commission .Millions queued in lines over a three...
, the second in 1999
South African general election, 1999
South Africa's second non-racial general election, held on 2 June 1999 was won by the African National Congress , who increased their number of seats by 14. Notable was the sharp decline of the New National Party, previously the National Party , who without former president F.W. de Klerk lost more...
, the third in 2004
South African general election, 2004
Legislative elections were held in South Africa on Wednesday, 14 April 2004. The African National Congress of President Thabo Mbeki, which came to power after the end of the apartheid system in 1994, was re-elected with an increased majority....
, and the most recent in 2009
South African general election, 2009
South Africa held national and provincial elections to elect a new National Assembly as well as the provincial legislature in each province on 22 April 2009....
. Until 2008, elected officials were allowed to change political party, while retaining their seats, during set windows which occurred twice each electoral term, due to controversial floor crossing
Floor crossing (South Africa)
Floor crossing in South Africa was a controversial system under which Members of Parliament, Members of Provincial Legislatures and Local Government councillors could change political party and take their seats with them when they did so...
legislative amendments made in 2002. The last two floor crossing windows were in 2005 and 2007.
After the 2009 elections, the ANC lost its two-thirds majority in the national legislature which had allowed it to unilaterally alter the constitution.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions
Congress of South African Trade Unions
The Congress of South African Trade Unions is a trade union federation in South Africa. It was founded in 1985 and is the biggest of the country’s three main trade union federations, with 21 affiliated trade unions, altogether organising 1.8 million workers.-Establishment:COSATU was established in...
(COSATU) and the South African Communist Party
South African Communist Party
South African Communist Party is a political party in South Africa. It was founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa by the joining together of the International Socialist League and others under the leadership of Willam H...
(SACP) are in a formal alliance with the ruling ANC, and thus do not stand separately for election.
Human rights
The constitution's bill of rights provides extensive guarantees, including equality before the law and prohibitions against discrimination; the right to life, privacy, property, and freedom and security of the person; prohibition against slavery and forced labour; and freedom of speech, religion, assembly, and association. The legal rights of criminal suspects also are enumerated. The constitution provides for an independent and impartial judiciary, and, in practice, these provisions are respected.Citizens' entitlements to a safe environment, housing, education, and health care are included in the bill of rights, and are known as secondary constitutional rights. In 2003 the constitutional secondary rights were used by the HIV/AIDS activist group the Treatment Action Campaign
Treatment Action Campaign
The Treatment Action Campaign is a South African AIDS activist organization which was founded by the HIV-positive activist Zackie Achmat in 1998. TAC is rooted in the experiences, direct action tactics and anti-apartheid background of its founder...
as a means of forcing the government to change its health policy.
Since the abolition of apartheid, levels of political violence in South Africa have dropped dramatically. Violent crime and organised criminal activity are at high levels and are a grave concern. Partly as a result, vigilante
Vigilante
A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
action and mob justice sometimes occur.
Some members of the police commit abuses, and deaths in police custody as a result of excessive force remain a problem. The government has taken action to investigate and punish some of those who commit such abuses. In April 1997, the government established an Independent Complaints Directorate to investigate deaths in police custody and deaths resulting from police action.
Although South Africa's society is undergoing a rapid transformation, some discrimination against women continues, and discrimination against those living with HIV/AIDS is becoming serious. Violence against women and children is also a serious problem.
Notable politicians
Many leaders of former bantustanBantustan
A bantustan was a territory set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West Africa , as part of the policy of apartheid...
s or homelands have had a role in South African politics since their abolition.
Mangosuthu Buthelezi
Mangosuthu Buthelezi
Inkosi Mangosuthu Buthelezi is a South African Zulu politician who founded the Inkatha Freedom Party in 1975 and continues to lead the party today.His praise name is Shenge.-Early life:...
was chief minister of his Kwa-Zulu
KwaZulu
KwaZulu was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government as a semi-independent homeland for the Zulu people. The capital, formerly at Nongoma, was moved in 1980 to Ulundi....
homeland from 1976 until 1994. In post-apartheid South Africa he has served as President of the Inkatha Freedom Party.
He was a Minister in President Mandela's cabinet. He also acted as President of the country when President Nelson Mandela was out of the country.
Bantubonke Holomisa, who was a general in the homeland of Transkei
Transkei
The Transkei , officially the Republic of Transkei , was a Bantustan—an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity—and nominal parliamentary democracy in the southeastern region of South Africa...
from 1987, has served as the president of the United Democratic Movement since 1997. Today he is a Member of Parliament.
General Constand Viljoen
Constand Viljoen
General Constand Viljoen SSA SD SOE SM is a former South African military commander and politician. He is partly credited with preventing the outbreak of armed violence by disaffected Afrikaners prior to the 1994 elections.-Military service:Viljoen received a degree in military science in 1955...
is a former chief of the South African Defence Force
South African Defence Force
The South African Defence Force was the South African armed forces from 1957 until 1994. The former Union Defence Force was renamed to the South African Defence Force in the Defence Act of 1957...
, who, as a leader of the Afrikaner Volksfront, sent 1500 of his militiamen to prop up the government of Lucas Mangope
Lucas Mangope
Kgosi Lucas Manyane Mangope is the former leader of the Bantustan of Bophuthatswana and current leader of the United Christian Democratic Party, a minor political party based in the North West province of South Africa....
and to contest the termination of Bophuthatswana
Bophuthatswana
Bophuthatswana , officially the Republic of Bophuthatswana was a Bantustan – an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity – and nominal parliamentary democracy in the northwestern region of South Africa...
as a homeland in 1994. He co-founded the Freedom Front in 1994. He has retired from being a Member of Parliament.
Lucas Mangope, former chief of the Motsweda Ba hurutshe-Boo-Manyane tribe of the Tswana, ex-president of the former bantustan of Bophuthatswana
Bophuthatswana
Bophuthatswana , officially the Republic of Bophuthatswana was a Bantustan – an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity – and nominal parliamentary democracy in the northwestern region of South Africa...
, is the current leader of the United Christian Democratic Party.