South Africa - Politics

South Africa’s first non-racial and democratic elections were held in April 1994, with Commonwealth, UN and other teams of observers present. The observers concluded that despite technical problems during the elections, the results were an overwhelming expression of the will of the people. The elections gave the African National Congress (ANC) an overall majority with 252 seats, and 63% of the votes. The National Party (NP) obtained 20% and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) 11%.

Nelson Mandela, president of the ANC, was elected president of South Africa at the first sitting of the National Assembly in May 1994. Although the ANC had an overall majority, in the interests of achieving consensus, a Government of National Unity (GNU) was formed, with a cabinet comprising 18 ANC, six NP, three IFP MPs and one independent MP. Mandela appointed Thabo Mbeki (ANC) and F W de Klerk (NP) as deputy presidents. The then ANC Secretary-General Cyril Ramaphosa was elected Chairperson of the Constitutional Assembly. In June 1994 South Africa rejoined the Commonwealth and reclaimed its seat at the UN.

The NP withdrew from the GNU in 1996 to form the parliamentary opposition, but the IFP remained in the national government, although this collaboration was not reflected in the provincial government of KwaZulu-Natal. In October 1996 a new constitution was approved by the National Assembly and came into force in February 1997.

At the 50th national conference of the ANC in December 1997, Mandela stood down as party president, making way for Thabo Mbeki.

In the second democratic general election in June 1999, the ANC received 66% of the votes, the Democratic Party (DP) 9%, the IFP just under 9%, the (renamed) New National Party (NNP) 7% and the newly formed United Democratic Movement (UDM) 4%. With 266 out of the National Assembly’s 400 seats, the ANC was able to command a two-thirds majority (necessary for changes to the constitution) with the support of the Minority Front, which had one seat. The DP replaced the NNP as the official opposition.

Mbeki succeeded Mandela as president and IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi was reappointed as home affairs minister, while the 22-member cabinet was partially reshuffled with Jacob Zuma becoming deputy president.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established with Archbishop Desmond Tutu as its chair in 1996 to provide a public forum for the personal accounts of human rights abuses during the apartheid years. It was attended by some 7,000 individuals (including ANC leaders, but not Buthelezi or de Klerk) and delivered its final report in October 1998. People attended hearings on a voluntary basis and were then entitled to apply to the TRC for amnesty from prosecution.

In June 2000, the DP and the NNP merged to become the Democratic Alliance under the leadership of Tony Leon.

In the April 2004 elections the ANC won a decisive mandate, taking 70% of the votes, while the Democratic Alliance took 12% and the IFP 7%. The ANC achieved a majority in seven of the nine provinces and gained the two-thirds majority needed to change the constitution, though they had not promised any changes in their manifesto.

Following a High Court trial in which Deputy President Jacob Zuma was implicated in corruption, in June 2005 Mbeki announced his dismissal from the government. He was subsequently charged with corruption and rape, and was suspended from his ANC role. In May 2006 Zuma was acquitted of rape and in September 2006 of corruption. He resumed his duties as deputy ANC leader after the earlier acquittal.

Leon retired as leader of the opposition Democratic Alliance in May 2007 and was succeeded by Helen Zille, Mayor of Cape Town.

In December 2007, Jacob Zuma defeated Mbeki in the ANC leadership elections, paving the way for his candidacy in the 2009 presidential elections. Shortly after this the corruption charge against Zuma was renewed.

In May 2008, violent attacks on immigrants from neighbouring countries occurred throughout the country but mainly in Gauteng province; with reports of several dozen deaths and displacement of thousands of immigrant Africans.

Zuma’s path to presidency appeared clear in September 2008, when a judge ruled that the corruption case against him could not proceed on the grounds that there could have been political meddling in his prosecution. In the same month, the ANC Executive Commission ‘recalled’ Mbeki from the presidency, he resigned, and parliament elected ANC deputy leader Kgalema Motlanthe to succeed him.

A new political party, the Congress of the People (COPE), was launched in December 2008 under the leadership of Mosiuoa Lekota, former chairman of the ANC and a close ally of Mbeki. In January 2009, following an appeal by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the Supreme Court of Appeal overturned the September 2008 judgment, effectively reinstating the corruption charge against Zuma. A few weeks before the elections were due, however, the NPA dropped the charge, citing evidence of political manipulation of the case.

Facing the challenge of COPE and the Democratic Alliance, the ANC nevertheless won 66% of votes in the parliamentary elections in April 2009, albeit just short of the two-thirds majority that it required to be able to change the constitution. The Democratic Alliance, led by Zille, received 17% of votes and COPE 7%. At the first sitting of the National Assembly in May 2009, Zuma was formally elected as president; and he then appointed Motlanthe deputy president. COPE’s candidate in the presidential contest was Bishop Mvume Dandala rather than its leader, Lekota.