South Africa flag South Africa: Economic and Political Overview

The political framework of South Africa

Political Outline

Current Political Leaders
President: Cyril RAMAPHOSA (since February 2018, re-elected 19 June 2024) – ANC ; the president is both chief of state and head of government
Vice President: Paul MASHSATILE (since 7 March 2023)
Next Election Dates
Presidential: May 2029
National Council of Provinces: June 2029
National Assembly: May 2029
Current Political Context
On May 29, 2024, South Africa conducted general elections to select a new National Assembly and provincial legislatures across its nine provinces. The African National Congress (ANC) experienced a significant decline in support, losing the parliamentary majority it had maintained since 1994, though it remained the largest party. The Democratic Alliance (DA) secured second place with a slight increase in support. uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), a left-wing populist party established six months prior and led by former President Jacob Zuma, achieved third place. On June 14, 2024, the ANC, DA, Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), and Patriotic Alliance (PA) formed a national unity government, resulting in the re-election of Cyril Ramaphosa as President of South Africa.
In December 2023, South Africa filed a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), alleging violations of the 1948 Genocide Convention due to Israel's actions in Gaza. South Africa contends that Israel's military operations demonstrate an intent to destroy the Palestinian population in Gaza. The ICJ has acknowledged receipt of South Africa's application, and Israel is required to respond by July 2025.
Main Political Parties

The main political parties in South Africa are:

  • African National Congress (ANC): ruling party in power since the end of apartheid and Nelson Mandela's election in 1994. Although its popularity declined by several percentage points between 2004 and 2024, in the latest elections it obtained 40% of the votes
  • Democratic Alliance (DA): official opposition, centrist, supports liberal democracy and free market principles, progressively gaining in popularity
  • uMkhonto weSizwe ('Spear of the Nation' - MK): left-wing populist, founded by former president Jacob Zuma just six months before the June 2024 elections, it obtained the third-highest number of votes
  • Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF): far-left, Marxist
  • Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP): conservative, right-wing, dominated by rural, Zulu-speakers based in the KwaZulu-Natal region; emphasises social justice and the role of traditional communities
  • Patriotic Alliance (PA): right wing to far-right, conservatism
  • Freedom Front Plus (FF+): right-wing, advocates for the rights of Afrikaans-speaking South Africans and minority groups
  • ActionSA: centre-right, liberism.
Executive Power
The President is both the chief of state and the head of the Government. The President is indirectly elected by the Parliament (lower house) to serve a five-year term. He/She is usually the leader of the largest party. The President is the also commander-in-chief of the armed forces, declares war or peace and appoints the Cabinet.
Legislative Power
South Africa has a bicameral legislature. The National Council of Provinces (the upper house) has 90 seats, with 10 members elected by each of the nine provincial legislatures for five-year terms. The National Assembly (the lower house) has 400 seats; the members are directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote to serve 5-year terms.

The executive branch of the Government is directly or indirectly dependent on the support of the Parliament, often expressed through a vote of confidence. The President can dissolve the Parliament if a majority of the members of the National Assembly seek its dissolution and if has been at least three years since the last election.

 

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

Definition:

The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).

World Rank:
32/180
 

Indicator of Political Freedom

Definition:

The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.

Ranking:
Free
Political Freedom:
2/7

Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House

 

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Latest Update: February 2025