IFES Election Guide | Country Profile: South Africa

Republic of South Africa

57,516,665
Population (as of Feb. 17, 2023)

27,782,081
Registered Voters (as of May 29, 2024)

73.59%
Average Turnout

7
Elections in our database

V-Dem* Score: 0.734
Regimes of the World Classification: Liberal Democracy
*Varieties of Democracy Electoral Democracy Index (2024)

CEDAW Status: Signed and Ratified
Signed Date: Jan. 29, 1993
Ratified Date: Dec. 15, 1995

SIGI* Score: 23.0
Level of Discrimination: Low
*Social Institutions and Gender Index (2023)

CRPD Status: Signed and Ratified
Signed Date: March 30, 2007
Ratified Date: Nov. 30, 2007

HDI* Score: 0.741
Category: High
*UNDP Human Development Index (2023)

Name	Official Name	Type
South African National Council of Provinces		Upper House
South African National Assembly		Lower House
South African Presidency	None	Head of State & Government

Description of government structure:

Chief of State: President Matamela Cyril RAMAPHOSA
Head of Government: President Matamela Cyril RAMAPHOSA
Assembly: a bicameral Parliament consisting of the National Council of Provinces with 90 seats and the National Assembly with 400 seats.

Description of electoral system:

The President is indirectly elected by the National Assembly and may serve up to two 5-year terms.
In the National Council of Provinces, 90 members are appointed by regional legislatures (6 permanent delegates and 4 special delegates per region) to serve 5-year terms *.
In the National Assembly, 200 members are elected in multi-seat constituencies and an additional 200 are elected in a nationwide constituency. All 400 members are directly elected via proportional representation vote to serve 5-year terms.

* The party composition of each provincial delegation must proportionally reflect the party representation in the provincial legislature.

Elections

2024-05-29
South African National Assembly
Votes 16,290,156
Registered 27,782,081
Turnout 58.64

2019-05-08
South African National Assembly
Votes 17,671,616
Registered 26,779,025
Turnout 65.99

2014-05-07
South African National Assembly
Votes 18,654,457
Registered 25,362,023
Turnout 73.55

2009-04-22
South African National Assembly
Votes 17,919,996
Registered 23,181,997
Turnout 77.3

2004-04-24
South African Presidency
Votes -
Registered 20,674,926
Turnout -

2004-04-14
South African National Assembly
Votes 15,863,554
Registered 20,674,926
Turnout 76.73

1999-06-02
South African National Assembly
Votes 16,228,462
Registered 18,172,751
Turnout 89.3

Election For	Date	Votes	Registered Voters	Turnout
South African National Assembly	2024-05-29	16,290,156	27,782,081	58.64
South African National Assembly	2019-05-08	17,671,616	26,779,025	65.99
South African National Assembly	2014-05-07	18,654,457	25,362,023	73.55
South African National Assembly	2009-04-22	17,919,996	23,181,997	77.3
South African Presidency	2004-04-24	-	20,674,926	-
South African National Assembly	2004-04-14	15,863,554	20,674,926	76.73
South African National Assembly	1999-06-02	16,228,462	18,172,751	89.3

Voter Turnout

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