2004 South African general election

Legislative elections were held in South Africa on Wednesday, 14 april 2004. The African National Congress (ANC) of President Thabo Mbeki, which has been in power since the end of the apartheid system in 1994, was re-elected with an increased majority.

These were the third free elections held since the end of the apartheid era. The South African National Assembly consists of 400 members, elected by proportional representation. Two hundred members are elected from national party lists, the other 200 are elected from party lists in each of the nine provinces. The President of South Africa is chosen by the National Assembly after each election.

Main Parties

• The African National Congress has been in power since 1994. At the 1999 elections it gained 66.4% of the vote and 266 seats.
• The Democratic Alliance (DA) led by Tony Leon, is the main opposition party. In 1999, as the Democratic Party, it won 9.6% of the vote and 38 seats.
• The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) is a Zulu party led by Mangosuthu Buthelezi
• The New National Party (NNP), a descendant of the ruling party of the apartheid era, led by Marthinus van Schalkwyk, is now an ally of the ANC.
• The Independent Democrats, is a new party led by Patricia De Lille.

Overview

The ANC, obtained 69.7% of the vote, a clear two-thirds majority for the first time. This theoretically allows them to change the constitution, although they have pledged not to. The main opposition DA also obtained an increased percentage, mostly supporters from the NNP, but lost some support to Patricia De Lille's ID. The NNP lost most of their support, dropping from 6.9% in 1999 to 1.7% (it was 20.4% in 1994), many of their supporters being unhappy with their alliance with the ANC. The ID suprised many observers by obtaining more votes than the NNP, becoming the fifth largest party. The IFP lost some support, including the majority in their stronghold province of Kwazulu-Natal, while the UDM also lost support, barely hanging on as opposition in their stronghold, the Eastern Cape.

Final results

Party	Votes	%	Change	Seats	Change
African National Congress	10,878,251	69.7	+3.3	279	+13
Democratic Alliance	1,931,201	12.4	+2.8	50	+12
Inkatha Freedom Party	1,088,664	7.0	-1.6	28	-6
United Democratic Movement	355,717	2.3	-1.1	9	-5
Independent Democrats	269,765	1.7	+1.7	7	+7
New National Party	257,824	1.7	-5.2	7	-21
African Christian Democratic Party	250,272	1.6	+0.2	6	-
Freedom Front Plus	139,465	0.89	+0.09	4	+1
United Christian Democratic Party	117,792	0.75	-0.03	3	-
Pan Africanist Congress	113,512	0.73	+0.02	3	-
Minority Front	55,267	0.35	+0.04	2	+1
Azanian People's Organisation	41,776	0.27	+0.1	2	+1
Others	113,161	0.72	-0.29	0	-3
Total	15,612,667	100.0	-	400	-

Twelve political parties are represented in the new National Assembly: the ANC, the DA, the IFP, the United Democratic Movement, the Independent Democrats, the NNP, the African Christian Democratic Party, the Freedom Front Plus, the United Christian Democratic Party, the Pan Africanist Congress, the Minority Front and the Azanian People's Organisation.

See also

• South African general election, 1999
• South African general election, 1994

External links

• Official IEC election results
• South African general election, 2004 on electionresources.org
• Election results from the South African Broadcasting Corporation