Thread: South African Parliamentary Election

• Country: South Africa
• Official Name: Republic of South Africa
• Election Type: Parliamentary
• Date: April 22, 2009

Election Profile:

At stake in this election:

• 400 seats in the National Assembly

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Kgalema MOTLANTHE
• Head of Government: President Kgalema MOTLANTHE
• Assembly: South Africa has a unicameral Parliament consisting of the National Assembly with 400 seats and the National Council of Provinces with 90 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by the National Assembly to serve a 5-year term.
• In the National Assembly 400 members are elected by popular vote to serve 5-year terms. In the National Council of Provinces [[lh.2.seats]] members are [[lh.2.electedby]] [[lh.2.election_type]] to serve [[lh.2.term]]-year terms.**

** The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) consists of nine provincial delegations nominated by the provincial legislatures, and a delegation from the South African Local Government Association (SALGA). Each of the provinces is allotted 10 seats in the NCOP.
Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: African National Congress (ANC)
  Leader: Jacob ZUMA
  Seats won in last National Assembly election: 0
• Party: African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP)
  Leader: Kenneth MESHOE
  Seats won in last National Assembly election: 0
• Party: Congress of the People (COPE)***
  Leader: Mosiuoa LEKOTA
  Seats won in last National Assembly election: 0
• Party: Democratic Alliance (DA)
  Leader: Helen ZILLE
  Seats won in last National Assembly election: 0
• Party: Freedom Front Plus (FF+)
  Leader: Pieter MULDER
  Seats won in last National Assembly election: 0
• Party: Inkatha Freedom Party (INK)
  Leader: Mangosuthu BUTHELEZI
  Seats won in last National Assembly election: 0
• Party: New National Party (NNP)
  Leader: Marthinus VAN SCHALKWYK
  Seats won in last National Assembly election: 0
• Party: Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC)
  Leader: N/A
  Seats won in last National Assembly election: 0
• Party: United Democratic Movement (UDM)
  Leader: Bantu HOLOMISA
  Seats won in last National Assembly election: 0

*** COPE formed in 2008 by former members of the ANC
Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 49,052,489 (July 2009 est.)
• Registered Voters: 0

Source: IFES