SANF 24 no 2 – By Clarkson Mambo
South Africans are keen to vote in the national and provincial elections on 29 May 2024 where they will elect members of the National Assembly and provincial parliaments.
The President of the country is not directly voted into office but is elected by the National Assembly, and is usually the leader of the party that has a majority in the house.
The African National Congress (ANC) has dominated polls since democratic elections and majority rule ended the system of institutionalized apartheid in 1994.
This year, the main opposition parties, the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) are optimistic about increasing their representation due to economic challenges that the country has faced in the past five years.
Former South African President, Jacob Zuma, a popular figure in South African politics, has added a twist to the elections after announcing that he will be backing the newly formed uMkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation) party, and not the ANC which he led for years.
This year’s election is particularly special as South Africa marks 30 years since the end of institutionalized apartheid.
“Beyond the fulfilment of our constitutional obligation, these upcoming elections are also a celebration of our democratic journey and a determination of the future that we all desire. I call on all South Africans to exercise their democratic right to vote and for those who will be campaigning to do so peacefully, within the full observance of the law,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said after announcing the election date.
President Ramaphosa, who is the leader of the ANC, is vying for a second term as Head of State.
According to the country’s elections body, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), nearly 28 million voters have registered to participate in the polls, an increase of over 1.5 million voters since the last elections in 2019.
A total of 23,292 voting stations will be set up for the election and will include 33 mobile voting stations.
In 2023, South Africa amended its electoral laws, introducing changes that will see individual independent candidates being allowed to contest in the polls for the first time.
The country uses a proportional representation system, which however accommodates independent candidates. This means that a political party gets a share of seats in parliament in direct proportion to the number of votes won in the election. There are currently 560 registered political parties in South Africa but not all have indicated interest to participate in the elections.
The IEC registers political parties that operate at four levels – national, provincial, district, and metropolitan.
For the first time in South African polls, the IEC has also allowed voters who are based outside the country to register online. Voters based outside South Africa will vote at selected diplomatic stations on either 17 or 18 May 2024, with each diplomatic mission expected to choose a date based on the host country’s dominant religious and cultural practices.
In election rallies held to date, all the parties and their supporters have expressed optimism that they will emerge victorious.
In what is likely to be a tightly contested poll, the winner of the election will be determined by which party can convince the electorate that it has the best plan to address matters around a weakening currency, unemployment, corruption, and load shedding among other issues.
According to the South African Constitution, Parliament is made up of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces.
The National Assembly is elected to represent the people and ensure government by the people in terms of the Constitution by choosing the President, providing a national forum for public consideration of issues, passing legislation, and scrutinizing and overseeing actions by the executive.
The National Council of Provinces represents the provinces to ensure provincial interests are taken into account by the national government.
In the 2019 elections, the ANC won 230 out of the 400 National Assembly seats, followed by the DA with 84 seats and the EFF with 44.
The total number of seats to be contested in provincial legislatures is 445.
As a result of changes to the election law in 2023, 200 of the 400 National Assembly seats will be contested at the national level and only by political parties. The other half will be divided among the nine provincial regions with political parties as well as independent candidates allowed to contest.
The IEC chief electoral officer, Sy Mamabolo said in line with the electoral law changes, voters will for the first time in South Africa’s elections get three ballot papers instead of the traditional two.
The first ballot is a regional ballot which will be unique in each region and will accommodate political party and independent candidates to be elected into the National Assembly. The second ballot is only for political party candidates nominated for the National Assembly, while the last ballot paper is for candidates who will be elected to the provincial legislature.
Of the major parties, the EFF was the first to launch its election manifesto on 10 February 2024, under the theme, “Our land and jobs now. Stop load shedding.”
“While focusing on clear, implementable, and decisive programmes for all spheres of governance, the EFF’s emphasis for the 2024 general elections will be on land, jobs and electricity,” said Julius Malema, the leader of the EFF.
A week after the EFF, the DA, which is led by John Steenhuisen launched its manifesto. The party said it is among others, targeting to create two million jobs, end load and water shedding, halve the rate of violent crimes, and lift six million people out of poverty.
The DA has also entered into coalitions with some smaller parties in its bid to form the next government.
On 24 February 2024, President Ramaphosa launched the ANC’s election strategy, under the theme, “Doing more, together. A better life for all”.
The party has six priorities which include addressing unemployment, expanding and leveraging industries to boost economic growth and create jobs, ensuring improved service delivery, as well as reducing the high cost of living.
“We will do better, we will do more and we will do it faster. Together,” said President Ramaphosa.
“By renewing the mandate of the ANC, we build on the foundations of the 30 years of freedom. We continue the journey towards a better life with equal opportunities for all South Africans, now and into the future.”
To participate in the elections, the IEC said political parties that will contest for National Assembly seats in all the country’s nine provinces will pay a deposit of R300,000 (about US$15,600) and R50,000 (about US$780) for each of the provincial seats.
Independent candidates will deposit R20,000 to contest for a National Assembly seat and R15,000 for a provincial seat.
As per tradition, the Southern African Development Community will deploy the SADC Electoral Observation Mission (SEOM) to observe the elections as South Africa is a member of the regional organisation.
The SEOM is expected to produce reports on the conduct of the polls. This is in line with the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections, which encourage Member States to promote common political values and systems. sardc.net
