The Republic of South Africa is a unitary parliamentary democratic republic. The President of South Africa serves both as head of state and as head of government. The President is elected by the National Assembly (the lower house of the South African Parliament) and must retain the confidence of the Assembly in order to remain in office. South Africans also elect provincial legislatures which govern each of the country's nine provinces.

Since the end of apartheid in 1994, the African National Congress (ANC) has dominated South Africa's politics. The ANC is the ruling party in the national legislature, as well as in most provinces. The ANC received 40.18% of the vote during the 2024 general election. The main challenger to the ANC's rule is the Democratic Alliance (DA), led by John Steenhuisen, which received 21.81% of the vote in the 2024 election. Other major political parties represented in Parliament includes uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK Party), Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). The formerly dominant New National Party (NNP), which both introduced and ended apartheid through its predecessor the National Party (NP), disbanded in 2005 to merge with the ANC.

Nelson Mandela served as president from 1994 to 1999 and his successors were Thabo Mbeki (1999−2008), Kgalema Motlanthe (2008−2009) and Jacob Zuma (2009−2018). Zuma was replaced by Cyril Ramaphosa after his resignation in February 2018. The 2024 general election was held on 29 May 2024, with the ANC losing its majority in the national parliament for the first time in South Africa's democratic history, though it still remained the largest political party. Despite losing the majority in 2024, the ANC managed to retain power with a coalition government.

South Africa is a democracy. Universal suffrage was granted in 1994 with the end of apartheid. Since then, elections have been open and competitive, and the lives of South Africans have improved across multiple metrics. However, it has faced challenges as a multi-racial, young democracy.

Party Vote by region

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File:South-africa-anc-percent.svg|The ANC's performance by region in the 2024 South African general election.

File:South-africa-da-percent-2024.svg|The Democratic Alliance (South Africa) performance by region in the 2024 South African general election.

File:South-africa-mk-percent.svg|The uMkhonto we Sizwe (political party) performance by region.

File:South-africa-eff-percent-2024.svg|The Economic Freedom Fighters performance by region in the 2024 South African general election.

File:South-africa-anc-seat-loss-2024.svg|The ANC's seat loss by region and national ballot in the 2024 election.

</gallery>

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. It also includes wide guarantees of access of food, water, education, health care, and social security. 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 Treatment Action Campaign, a HIV/AIDS activist group as a means of forcing the government to change its health policy.

Violent crime, including violence against women and children, 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 South African politicians were inciting violence based on race or political affiliation according to South Africa's Equality Court.

Some members of the police are accused of applying excessive force and abusing suspects in custody; as a result, the number of deaths in police custody remains a problem. In April 1997, the government established an Independent Complaints Directorate to investigate deaths in police custody and deaths resulting from police action.

Some discrimination against women continues, although it has improved overall, and discrimination against those living with HIV/AIDS has been becoming a serious issue.

There has been a growing political intolerance and repression, especially with regard to grassroots activists.

Notable politicians

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 served as acting President of South Africa when President Nelson Mandela was overseas.

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 was 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 retired from being a Member of Parliament before his death in 2020.

Lucas Mangope, former chief of the Motsweda Ba hurutshe-Boo-Manyane tribe of the Tswana, ex-president of the former bantustan of Bophuthatswana, was the leader of the United Christian Democratic Party.

See also

  • Internet censorship in South Africa
  • Hate speech laws in South Africa

References

Bibliography

  • South Africa. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. Available at https://www.gov.za/documents/constitution-republic-south-africa-1996.
  • United Kingdom. South Africa Act, 1909. Available at https://media.law.wisc.edu/s/c_8/jzhy2/cbsa1.pdf
  • United Kingdom. Statute of Westminster, 1931. Available at https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1931/4/pdfs/ukpga_19310004_en.pdf
  • United Kingdom. Balfour Declaration, 1926.
  • South Africa. Bantu Homeland Citizenship Act, 1970. Available at http://disa.ukzn.ac.za/leg19700309028020026
  • South Africa. Constitution of South Africa, Act 200 of 1993. Available at https://www.gov.za/documents/constitution/constitution-republic-south-africa-act-200-1993
  • South Africa. Status of the Union, Act 69 of 1934.

Further reading

  • Dynamics in the slow reform legislations
  • Institute for Democracy

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