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CWA # 1405, 31 May 2024
NIAS Africa Studies
South Africa Election 2024: Course, Issues and Outcomes

  Vetriselvi Baskaran

On 29 May, South Africa held its seventh national and provincial elections. The Electoral Commission of South Africa reported that 27.79 million voters registered for this election compared to 26.74 million in 2019.  However, only 16.2 million cast their votes, resulting in a voter turnout of 58.64 per cent. This year, the ANC failed to secure an absolute majority of 50 per cent. The ANC’s vote share was 40.18 per cent, the Democratic Alliance (DA) secured 21.81 per cent followed by the MK party with 14.58 per cent and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) with 9.52 per cent. 

Following the declaration of the results, the ANC recommended a National Unity Government. Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) agreed to partner with the ANC and the DA to form a Unity Government. 

Meanwhile, on 14 June, the first Parliamentary session re-elected Cyril Ramaphosa as President with 283 votes. 

The electoral process
South Africa follows a proportional voting system. The winning party requires a simple majority in the National Assembly to form the government. In South Africa, the president is elected indirectly. South Africans elect the members of the National Assembly who then elect the president by simple majority. The National Assembly holds its first sitting within 14 days of the results announced where members will swear in and elect the speaker and then the president. The president, the leader of the state and the government, is elected for a five-year term. 

This year, for the first time independent candidates contested in the elections. This brought changes in the electoral procedures. People voted for three ballots- two for the National Assembly and the third for electing the provincial legislature. 

Major parties contested
The major parties are ANC, the DA, the MK and the EFF. Since 1994, the ANC, which led the movement against the Apartheid regime, has been in power. President Cyril Ramaphosa is the leader of the party. 

The Democratic Alliance (DA), a liberal party, is the principal opposition to the ANC, led by John Steenhuisen. 

The UMkhonto weSizwe party was formed in December 2023 by former President Jacob Zuma. He left the ANC and formed his party with the name of ANC’s former military wing. However, Zuma was declared ineligible to contest the contempt of court and the corruption charges. 

The other major parties are Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) under Julius Malema and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). 

Major issues
First, socio-economic issues. The country is grappling with the unemployment crisis reaching 32.4 per cent in 2023. Besides, a larger issue for South Africans is the power outages. The state utility, Eskom, is unable to generate sufficient electricity. The series of corruption scandals involving high profiles is another issue. Corruption was prevalent during the presidency of Jacob Zuma. He was charged with corruption and money laundering in April 2018. In December 2022, President Ramaphosa was accused of corruption charges for illegally stacking a large sum of money at his farm. According to Statistica, the crime rate in South Africa records the world’s third-highest at 75.4 per cent. The urban regions are known for assaults, rape, and homicides. According to the World Bank, South Africa ranks first in terms of inequality. Ten per cent of the population owns 80 per cent of wealth. The remaining of the Apartheid continue to shadow society through racial and spatial segregation. Public dissatisfaction increased against the ruling government’s inability to address the underlying issues. 

Second, the decline of the ANC. The ANC secured a single majority in all the six elections held since 1994. However, there has been a strong decline in the percentage since 2004. In 2009, the figure was 66 per cent from 70 per cent in 2004. In 2014, it further declined to 62 per cent. In 2019, the party secured only 57.5 per cent. In the current election, it lost the absolute majority. The decline is attributed to the party-led government’s failure to address the socio-economic issues. The factional troubles within the ANC resulted in the degeneration of many other parties including the EFF and MK, which divided the ANC’s votes. 

Outcomes 
First, the successful elections. The electoral process was fair and smooth, says the country’s election commission. Since the end of Apartheid, the country has conducted seven free and fair elections. This year highlighted the high voter turnout of 58.64 per cent showing a high level of citizen participation. When compared to Chad and Senegal, which conducted elections this year, the South African election was peaceful. The results further brought a new change and challenge to the country. This term, South Africa will have a unity government. This change implies a victory of democracy which is anticipated to push the government and ANC to put effort to gain public by addressing the social and economic challenges. 

Second, challenges for the first-ever unity government. The unity government would face major ideological differences. The differences between the DA party and the ANC against the race-based transformation policies are challenging to function at ease. All parties of the unity government have been vocal of ANC’s 30-year rule and corruption allegations. It is anticipated that the coalition government would experience challenges in terms of national and foreign policy-making alongside internal ideological differences. 

Third, evolving public stance. According to South Africa’s Independent Electoral Commission, 4.4 million out of 11 million eligible voters registered. The majority of the younger generation did not vote, which implies their apathy toward the political system. The younger generation, born post-apartheid, is not influenced by the ANC’s anti-apartheid credentials. 

About the author
Vetriselvi Baskaran is a Research Assistant at NIAS.

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