At Stake in this Election:

• All 400 seats in the South African National Assembly

Government Structure:

• Chief of State: President Cyril RAMAPHOSA (since 15 February 2018)
• Head of Government: President Cyril RAMAPHOSA (since 15 February 2018)
• Assembly: bicameral Parliament with a 90-seat National Council of Provinces and 400-seat National Assembly

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, all 90 members are appointed by provincial legislatures (6 permanent delegates and 4 special delegates for each of the 9 provinces). All members serve 5-year terms, and there is no term limit.
• In the National Assembly, all 400 members are directly elected by proportional representation vote: 200 members from multi-seat constituencies and 200 from a single, nationwide constituency. All members serve 5-year terms, and there is no term limit.

Last Election:

In the 2019 National Assembly election, the ANC won a majority with 230 seats, followed by the Democratic Alliance (84 seats) and twelve additional parties. Voter turnout was 65.99%.

Information for Voters:

Voter Education (in English)

New/Unique in this Election:

Electoral Amendment Act 1 of 2023 allows independent candidates to run in National Assembly and provincial assembly elections for the first time, setting requirements for their nomination and listing. The Act also revises the seat allocation formula and seat re-allocation procedures (if seats are vacated) for the National Assembly and establishes an Electoral Reform Consultation Panel to provide non-binding reform recommendations following the 2024 elections.

Key Deadlines:

• Candidate filing deadline: 8 March 2024
• Voter registration deadline: 23 February 2024

Main Candidates in this Election:

• African National Congress (ANC)
  • Seats won in last election: 230 out of 400
• Democratic Alliance (DA)
  • Seats won in last election: 84 out of 400
• Economic Freedom Fighters
  • Seats won in last election: 44 out of 400
• Inkatha Freedom Party
  • Seats won in last election: 14 out of 400
• Freedom Front Plus
  • Seats won in last election: 10 out of 400
• African Christian Democratic Party
  • Seats won in last election: 4 out of 400

The IEC lists 51 national parties as well as several regional parties and independent candidates that will contest the National Assembly elections.

Population and Registered Voters:

• Population: 59,893,890 (2022 est.)
• Registered Voters: 27,698,197 (2024)

Gender Data:

• Female Population: 30,725,880 (2022 est.)
• CEDAW Status: Signed 29 January 1993, Ratified 15 December 1995
• Gender Quota: No
• Female Candidates in this election: Yes
• Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 182 out of 394 (46.2%) in the National Council of Provinces and 24 out of 54 (44.4%) in the National Assembly
• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 0.717, High, Rank 110 (2022)
• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: 23 (2023)

Disability Data:

• CRPD Status: Signed 30 March 2007, Ratified 30 November 2007
• Projected population with a disability: 9,583,022 (2022 est.)

IFES Resources:

• Does IFES have a presence in South Africa: No  
• Election Access: Yes
• Election Judgements: Yes, 17 judgments and 13 resources