General elections were held in South Africa on 8 May 2019 to elect a new President, National Assembly and provincial legislatures in each province. These were the sixth elections held since the end of apartheid in 1994 and determined who would become the next President of South Africa.
Incumbent President Cyril Ramaphosa led the ruling African National Congress, with the party attempting to retain its majority status and secure Ramaphosa a full term in office as president; his predecessor, Jacob Zuma, resigned from office on 14 February 2018. Zuma was already ineligible for a third term in office as the South African Constitution limits a president to serve a maximum of two five-year terms.
The National Assembly election was won by the ruling African National Congress (ANC), but with a reduced majority of 57.50%, down from 62.15% in the 2014 election. This was the ANC's lowest vote share since the introduction of non-racial democratic elections in 1994. The official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) also saw its proportion of the vote decline, from 22.23% to 20.77%, while the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) significantly grew their vote share, from 6.35% to 10.80%. The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) grew from 2.40% to 3.38%; this was the first time the party's vote share increased since 1994. The Freedom Front Plus (VF+) also grew from 0.9% to 2.38%, achieving its largest vote share since its founding.
Eight of the nine provincial legislatures were won by the ANC, though it lost its two-thirds majority in the National Council of Provinces for the first time since 1994. The EFF retained its position as official opposition in Limpopo and the North West, while simultaneously beating the Democratic Alliance to second place in Mpumalanga. The DA obtained second place in four provinces won by the ANC. In KwaZulu-Natal, the Inkatha Freedom Party beat the DA to second place for the first time since 2014. In the Western Cape, the only province not won by the ANC, the DA declined from 59.38% to 55.45%.
Electoral system South Africa has a parliamentary system of government; the National Assembly consists of 400 members elected by closed list proportional representation. Two hundred members are elected from national party lists; the other 200 are elected from provincial party lists in each of the nine provinces. The 200 provincial seats are divided among the provinces based on population, ranging from 5 seats in the Northern Cape to 48 seats in Gauteng, as of this election. The largest remainder method and the Droop quota are used to allocate seats at both the provincial and national level. All 400 seats are first allocated to parties at the national level, then the 200 provincial seats are allocated to parties in each of the nine provinces. Finally, the national list seats are allocated to the parties by subtracting seats won at the provincial level for each party from that party's national allocation, generating a maximally proportional result. A provision in the electoral law limits the number of seats allocated in the highest remainder stage of the national allocation to 5, with any remaining unallocated seats distributed according to the highest average of votes per seat. The president of South Africa is elected by the National Assembly after the election.
The provincial legislatures, which vary in size from 30 to 80 members, are also elected by proportional representation with closed lists, using the same method as the provincial allocation in the national election. The premiers of each province are elected by the respective provincial legislatures.
The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) consists of 90 members, ten elected by each provincial legislature. The NCOP members are elected by the provincial legislatures in proportion to the party makeup of the legislatures.
Date of election The term of the National Assembly is five years. The previous general election was held on 7 May 2014, and the term of the National Assembly therefore ended on 6 May 2019, but the National Assembly remained competent to function from the time it is dissolved, or its term expires, until the day before the first day of polling for the next National Assembly.
When the National Assembly's term expires (or if it is dissolved),In terms of section 50 of the Constitution. the President must call and set dates for an election, which must be held within 90 days of the date the National Assembly was dissolved or its term expired.Section 49(2) of the Constitution. Therefore, if the National Assembly had not been dissolved before 6 May 2019, the election had to be held by 4 August 2019. A proclamation calling and setting dates for an election may be issued before or after the expiry of the term of the National Assembly.
On 7 February 2019, while President Cyril Ramaphosa was delivering the annual State of the Nation Address before Parliament, he announced that national and provincial elections would be held on Wednesday, 8 May 2019. This was confirmed in the official proclamation of the election date, made on 26 February 2019, which also closed the voters' roll.
Voter registration Local voters On the weekends of 10–11 March 2018 and 26–27 January 2019, all voting stations were opened for new voters to register and for those who moved residence to re-register in their new voting district. All South African political parties launched voter registration campaigns. Politicians especially urged the youth to register to vote. Following the January 2019 registration, the commission announced that over 700,000 new voters had registered over the January registration weekend. This brought the combined total of new voters to over 1.1 million and the total number of voters on the voters' roll to 26,727,921.
International voters Voter registrations for all South Africans living abroad took place from 1 to 4 February 2019. The registration took place during the office hours at all of South Africa's 120 diplomatic missions. On 14 March 2019, the Independent Electoral Commission confirmed that 30,532 South African voters abroad applied to be included in the election, of which 29,334 applications were approved.
Candidates
Contesting political parties
The governing African National Congress (ANC) has held a majority of the seats in the National Assembly since 1994, being re-elected with increasing majorities in 1999 and 2004, and with a slight fall in its majority in 2009 and 2014. The ANC is led by Cyril Ramaphosa, who was elected to a five-year term as President of the African National Congress, beating his rival, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, by a narrow margin. David Mabuza was elected as Deputy President of the ANC, succeeding Ramaphosa.
On 14 February 2018, Zuma resigned as President of South Africa, leading Ramaphosa, as Deputy President, to succeed him as acting president and serve out the remainder of Zuma's term. Ramaphosa was elected president on 15 February 2018. Ramaphosa thus ran for a full term in office as president.
The official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) was led by Helen Zille. She announced on 12 April 2015, that she was not running for re-election. Leader of the Opposition Mmusi Maimane and Federal Chairperson Wilmot James were seen as prominent front-runners.
At the party's 2015 Federal Congress in Port Elizabeth, Maimane was elected leader of the DA, succeeding outgoing leader Helen Zille. He defeated Wilmot James, winning close to 90% of the vote. He was backed by prominent businessman and future Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba. He became the first black South African to lead the DA, as well as its youngest leader to date. In the 2016 municipal elections, the party contested the municipal elections for the first time under the leadership of Mmusi Maimane. The party gained significant support and control of municipalities all across South Africa while assuming control of most Western Cape councils. In addition, the party gained three metropolitan municipalities from the ANC – Tshwane, Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Bay. The party did increase its majority in Cape Town. They lost control of the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality in August 2018, after a vote of no confidence ousted the DA administration. The DA held its Federal Congress on 7–8 April 2018 in Pretoria. Mmusi Maimane was re-elected unopposed as the leader for another term.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is a splinter party of the ANC that was formed in July 2013 by expelled ANC Youth League leader, Julius Malema, taking a strong anti-ANC position within its far-left economic platform, such as calling for the expropriation of land without compensation, and the nationalisation of South Africa's mines and the South African Reserve Bank. The party contested its first general elections in 2014 and garnered support across South Africa, giving it a total of 25 seats in the National Assembly.
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) was led by Mangosuthu Buthelezi. The party's support has decreased since 2004 due to internal party disputes. The party gained municipalities and support in its stronghold of KwaZulu-Natal in the 2016 municipal elections. This election would be Buthelezi's last election as party president, as he announced on 20 January 2019 that he would not seek re-election to another term. The party launched its manifesto on 10 March 2019. The party elected Velenkosini Hlabisa as Buthelezi's successor.
The National Freedom Party (NFP) was formed in 2011 by disgruntled IFP members. It was launched on 25 January 2011 by Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi, former chairperson of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). The party made gains on the IFP in 2014 but lost support in 2016. The party launched its manifesto on 31 March 2019.
The Freedom Front Plus (FF+; , VF+) is a conservative, White separatist party formed in 1994, led by Pieter Groenewald. Since 2004, the party's support has increased but has maintained a small presence in parliament by securing no more than four seats in the National Assembly since the 2004 general election. According to the party's manifesto: "The Freedom Front Plus is irrevocably committed to the realisation of communities', in particular, the Afrikaner's, internationally recognised right to self-determination, territorial or otherwise; the maintenance, protection and promotion of their rights and interests, as well as the promotion of the right of self-determination of any other community, bound by a common language and cultural heritage in South Africa." The party launched its manifesto on 2 March 2019.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) announced on 20 March 2019 that a record number of 48 parties had registered candidates for the national parliamentary election. This is 19 more parties that contested the 2014 national elections. In the provincial legislature elections, the total number of parties that registered candidates were: Eastern Cape – 26 Free State – 28 Gauteng – 36 KwaZulu-Natal – 31 Limpopo – 34 Mpumalanga – 28 Northern Cape – 21 North West – 29 Western Cape – 34
The electoral code of conduct was signed at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, Gauteng on 20 March 2019. At the signing event, a draw was held in which the African Security Congress won the right to appear at the top of the ballot paper.
Notable new parties that contested the elections include: Black First Land First (BLF) is a controversial far-left black nationalist political party. The party is headed by its founder and expelled EFF member, Andile Mngxitama. Mngxitama was expelled from the EFF in April 2015 and subsequently lost his National Assembly membership. He founded the party in October 2015, along with other disgruntled EFF members. The party's leaders and its members have been criticised and condemned for making racially insensitive comments that call for the killing of white South Africans. The party launched its manifesto on 6 April 2019.