South Africa’s ANC party could fall below 50% of the vote — a first since white minority rule’s end

‏‏‎ ‎

DATE OF ELECTION

Between mid-May and August

TYPE OF ELECTION

Parliamentary and provincial legislatures. South Africans vote for a political party and not for presidential candidates in general elections. Parties are allocated seats in the 400-seat Parliament based on the percentage of votes they receive in the national election and members of Parliament then elect the president.

WHO’S RUNNING

President Cyril Ramaphosa will be seeking reelection for a second and final term but early polls indicate his ruling African National Congress party — the party once led by Nelson Mandela — might drop below 50% of the national vote for the first time since they came into government at the end of white minority rule in 1994. The ANC is still widely expected to win the most votes but if it drops below 50%, it would have to form a coalition to keep Ramaphosa as president. The Democratic Alliance is the main opposition party and the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters party has grown in popularity under firebrand leader Julius Malema and is the third biggest in Parliament.

WHY IT MATTERS TO THE WORLD

South Africa is Africa’s most developed economy but is facing major challenges including widening inequality and rising levels of unemployment and poverty. Analysts say that further failure to address these issues may lead to social unrest. In 2021, more than 300 people died in violent riots, a worrying outburst of public disorder in one of Africa’s leading lights.

For more on South Africa’s elections, click here
To see how other 2024 elections could affect the world, click here