IFES Election Guide | Country Profile: South Africa

Republic of South Africa

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.

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

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