General election in South Africa 2014
The 2014 South African parliamentary elections took place on May 7, 2014. The were South African National Assembly ( National assembly ) and the nine provincial assemblies ( provincial legislature ) elected. The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) was responsible for running the elections .
The African National Congress (ANC) was able to defend its absolute majority , but lost almost four percentage points. The official opposition party was again the Democratic Alliance (DA), which also showed the second largest gains of all parties. The third strongest party was the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), who competed for the first time and received over six percent of the vote. As in 2009, the ANC also won elections in eight of the nine provinces. Like five years ago, the DA won in the Western Cape Province .
National Assembly elections
Starting position
In the last election in April 2009 , the African National Congress (ANC) under President- elect Jacob Zuma was able to defend its absolute majority, but lost almost a two-thirds majority of votes and mandates. 13 parties made it into the National Assembly. The strongest opposition party and thus opposition leader became the Democratic Alliance (DA). The turnout was 77.3% and the elections were peaceful, free and fair. Jacob Zuma announced the election date for the 2014 elections due after the end of the legislative period on February 21, 2014.
Result 2009
Political party | Top candidate | Result | Seats |
---|---|---|---|
African National Congress (ANC) | Jacob Zuma | 65.90% | 264 |
Democratic Alliance (DA) | Helen Zille | 16.66% | 67 |
Congress of the People (COPE) | Mosiuoa Lekota | 7.42% | 30th |
Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) | Mangosuthu Buthelezi | 4.55% | 18th |
Independent Democrats (ID) | Patricia de Lille | 0.92% | 4th |
United Democratic Movement (UDM) | Bantu Holomisa | 0.85% | 4th |
Vryheidsfront Plus (FF +) | Pieter Mulder | 0.83% | 4th |
African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) | Kenneth Meshoe | 0.81% | 3 |
United Christian Democratic Party (UCDP) | Lucas Mangope | 0.37% | 2 |
Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) | Motsoko Pheko | 0.27% | 1 |
Minority Front (MF) | Amichand Rajbansi | 0.25% | 1 |
Azanian People's Organization (AZAPO) | Mosibudi Mangena | 0.22% | 1 |
African People's Convention (APC) | Nelson Themba Godi | 0.20% | 1 |
Others | 0.76% | - |
Party political developments since 2009
As since 1994, the ANC ruled with an absolute majority in the Tripartite Alliance, which includes the South African Communist Party and the trade union confederation Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), both of which are on the ANC's lists. However, this was now affected by party divisions . The COSATU National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) spoke out against working with the ANC and decided to open it up in favor of the Economic Freedom Fighters (ECC), which was organized in 2013 by Julius Malema , the former chairman of the ANC Youth League , were founded. Malema had previously been expelled from the ANC following internal disputes. The ECC is to the left of the ANC. The Independent Democrats went into the DA. Mamphela Ramphele also founded the Agang South Africa party in 2013 . Ramphele was offered the top candidate on the DA's list, which she first accepted, but then declined under pressure from her own party.
The United Congress (UC) split off from the Congress of the People (COPE ) under Mluleki George. The Workers and Socialist Party (WASP) was founded in 2013 by disaffected miners and the Trotskyist Democratic Socialist Movement as a result of the 2012 miners' strike . The National Transport Movement union, formerly a member of COSATU , now supported the WASP. The National Freedom Party (NFP ) split off from the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) under the leadership of Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi. South Africa First (SAF) was also founded in 2013 by former fighters of the Umkhonto we Sizwe , who had been excluded from the veterans' association because of their criticism of the ANC, but did not take part in the elections. Finally, the Front Nasionaal (FN) party emerged to represent the interests of right-wing Boers aimed at a people's state .
Eligible parties
In addition to the ANC and the DA, ten of the eleven parties previously represented in parliament (without the ID) were admitted, as were the first-time parties EFF, Agang South Africa, UC, WASP, NFP and FN. The following parties and groups also competed: African Independent Congress, Al Jama-ah, Bushbuckridge Residents Association, First Nation Liberation Alliance, Independent Civic Organization of South Africa, Keep It Straight and Simple, Kingdom Governance Movement, Pan Africanist Movement, Patriotic Alliance , Peoples Alliance and Ubuntu Party. A total of 29 parties were listed on the ballot papers.
Registration
Around 25.3 million people registered, i.e. 80.5% of the population entitled to vote. Registration took place on 9/10. November 2013 and on 8./9. February 2014. The minimum voting age was 18 years. Of the almost two million 18- and 19-year-olds who were born after the end of apartheid and are therefore referred to as born-frees (for example: “born free”), fewer than 700,000 were registered. There were 9,949 prison inmates among those registered. After the Electoral Amendment Act was passed in November 2013, South Africans residing abroad were allowed to vote for the National Assembly for the first time.
procedure
The mandates for the National Assembly were awarded according to proportional representation. There was no threshold clause . Around 0.2% of the votes were therefore sufficient for a mandate. The elections to the National Assembly and the Provincial Assemblies took place on a Wednesday. The polling stations were open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Some polling stations opened late or stayed open longer due to the large crowds. At least one police officer or soldier was stationed at each polling station. Every voter received a stain of real ink on their thumbnail. Before the election, the thumb was examined with UV light to prevent multiple voting. A ballot paper was issued for the elections to the National Assembly and to the respective Provincial Assembly, on each of which a list could be ticked. In addition to the party name, each line contained the name of the top candidate, the party's logo and a voting field. 400 parliamentarians were elected, including 200 via national lists and 200 via provincial lists.
The elections were generally peaceful.
Result
The final result was announced on May 9, 2014. 18,654,457 votes were cast, of which 251,960 were invalid. The turnout was 73.4%. The following voting shares and number of mandates resulted.
consequences
Jacob Zuma was sworn in again as President on May 24, 2014. The following day he presented his cabinet. There were numerous reshuffles and new cabinet members. It has a total of 35 members.
Elections to the provincial assemblies
The provincial assemblies were elected in parallel with the national assembly. Up until the elections, the DA had a majority in the Western Cape Province and is thus the Prime Minister, the other eight provinces were governed by the ANC. All nine governments were confirmed in the elections. The EFF managed to become the official opposition in Limpopo and Northwest . In KwaZulu-Natal , the DA became the official opposition, displacing the IFP. The COPE also suffered the greatest losses here. In addition to the parties admitted to the election of the National Assembly, numerous other groups had applied for seats; however, they were unsuccessful.
Allocation of seats in the Provincial Legislatures and the Western Cape Provincial Parliament
All parties that have won mandates are given. The first party constitutes the provincial government with an absolute majority, the second party the opposition opposition. The colors in the cards have the following meanings:
Eastern Cape
Political party | Seats | +/- |
---|---|---|
African National Congress (ANC) | 45 | + 1 |
Democratic Alliance (DA) | 10 | + 4 |
United Democratic Movement (UDM) | 4th | + 1 |
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) | 2 | + 2 |
Congress of the People (COPE) | 1 | - 8 |
African Independent Congress (AIC) | 1 | ± 0 |
total | 63 |
free State
Political party | Seats | +/- |
---|---|---|
African National Congress (ANC) | 22nd | ± 0 |
Democratic Alliance (DA) | 5 | + 2 |
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) | 2 | + 2 |
Freedom Front Plus (FF +) | 1 | ± 0 |
total | 30th |
Gauteng
Political party | Seats | +/- |
---|---|---|
African National Congress (ANC) | 40 | - 7 |
Democratic Alliance (DA) | 23 | + 6 |
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) | 8th | + 8 |
Freedom Front Plus (FF +) | 1 | ± 0 |
Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) | 1 | ± 0 |
total | 73 |
KwaZulu-Natal
Political party | Seats | +/- |
---|---|---|
African National Congress (ANC) | 52 | + 1 |
Democratic Alliance (DA) | 10 | + 3 |
Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) | 9 | - 9 |
National Freedom Party (NFP) | 6th | + 6 |
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) | 2 | + 2 |
Minority Front (MF) | 1 | - 1 |
total | 80 |
Limpopo
Political party | Seats | +/- |
---|---|---|
African National Congress (ANC) | 39 | - 4 |
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) | 6th | + 6 |
Democratic Alliance (DA) | 3 | + 1 |
Congress of the People (COPE) | 1 | - 4 |
total | 50 |
Mpumalanga
Political party | Seats | +/- |
---|---|---|
African National Congress (ANC) | 24 | - 3 |
Democratic Alliance (DA) | 3 | + 1 |
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) | 2 | + 2 |
Bushbuckridge Residents Association (BRA) | 1 | + 1 |
total | 30th |
northwest
Political party | Seats | +/- |
---|---|---|
African National Congress (ANC) | 23 | - 2 |
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) | 5 | + 5 |
Democratic Alliance (DA) | 4th | + 1 |
Freedom Front Plus (FF +) | 1 | + 1 |
total | 33 |
North Cape
Political party | Seats | +/- |
---|---|---|
African National Congress (ANC) | 20th | + 1 |
Democratic Alliance (DA) | 7th | + 1 |
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) | 2 | + 2 |
Congress of the People (COPE) | 1 | - 4 |
total | 30th |
Western cape
Political party | Seats | +/- |
---|---|---|
Democratic Alliance (DA) | 26th | + 2 |
African National Congress (ANC) | 14th | ± 0 |
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) | 1 | + 1 |
African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) | 1 | ± 0 |
total | 42 |
Consequences of the provincial elections
The National Council of Provinces was constituted on May 22, 2014 , in which the ANC provides two-thirds of the MPs with 60 seats based on the election results for the Provincial Legislatures. The DA (20 seats), the EFF (seven seats) as well as IFP, NFP and UDM with one seat each are also represented there.
See also
Web links
- Official website of the Independent Electoral Commission. on www.elections.org.za (English)
- List of all candidates as of March 26, 2014, for download, www.elections.org.za
- The voting system on the EISA website www.eisa.org.za (English)
- The voting system on the Helen Suzman Foundation website . on hsf.org.za (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Information on the IEC ( Memento from March 27, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
- ↑ Proclamation of the election date 2014 (English), accessed on April 5, 2014
- ↑ IEC list of parties that have applied for participation , accessed on April 5, 2014
- ↑ IEC list of parties that were not admitted , accessed on April 5, 2014
- ↑ a b c Details on registration at politicsweb.co.za (English), accessed on April 5, 2014
- ^ The A - Zuma of South African elections. Mail & Guardian of March 13, 2014 (English), accessed April 5, 2014
- ^ Electoral Amendment Act in force. Report from sabinetlaw.co.za (English), accessed on April 5, 2014
- ↑ Information from the IEC (English, PDF), accessed on April 5, 2014
- ↑ No significant problems at the polls. Business Day, May 7, 2014, accessed May 9, 2014
- ↑ a b Result of the elections on the IEC website (English), accessed on May 10, 2014
- ↑ Report at thepresidency.gov.za (English), accessed on May 24, 2014
- ↑ Cabinet list from May 25, 2014 ( Memento from January 17, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
- ↑ List of all candidates, as of March 26, 2014, for download , accessed on April 6, 2014