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Voter Stats

National Election Results

*Please see attachment for more detailed results.

National Assembly Seats

Despite not securing a two-thirds majority of the vote, which would give the African National Congress (ANC) Parliamentary weight enough to change the country's Constitution, it has maintained its dominance in post-1994 South African politics. With the ANC's victory, party leader Jacob Zuma has taken over the Presidency from caretaker President Kgalema Motlanthe, who filled the country's top position after the "redeployment" of Thabo Mbeki in September 2008. The ANC's percentage of the vote decreased from 69,69% in 2004 to 65,90% in 2009.

The Democratic Alliance (DA), under leader Helen Zille, made considerable gains from the party's 2004 election results, increasing from 12,37% in 2004 to 16,66% in 2009. The biggest gainers of all the opposition political parties, the DA was criticised for their "negative campaigning" prior to the election. Slogans such as "Stop Zuma" were implemented in an attempt to drive support away from the ANC; with measured success as the party was able to retain its status as the official opposition and even increase its support base. Zille claims that the "Stop Zuma" campaign ultimately prevented the ANC from gaining a two-thirds majority of the vote. Perhaps the greatest victory for the DA was claiming the Western Cape province from the ANC with an overall majority of 51,46% in the provincial vote.

The newcomers to the political scene were the Congress of the People (Cope), which surprised many in debuting with 7,42% of the national vote. The party was formed in November 2008, by former ANC members Mosiuoa Lekota and Mbhazima Shilowa. Lekota and Shilowa, along with other former ANC members, were labelled as Mbeki loyalists, as the party was seen by many to be formed as a direct result of the ANC Polokwane conference in December 2007, which saw Zuma voted in as new ANC leader. There was even speculation that Mbeki himself was going to join the newly formed party.

Lekota and Shilowa played on the rhetoric that the ANC was violating the country's Constitution by allowing Zuma to run for President while facing impending corruption charges. Provincially, the party drew most of its support from the Northern Cape (15,94%), Eastern Cape (13,31%) and the Free State (11,11%). Since the election, however, the party has been rumoured to be riddled with infighting over party leadership between Shilowa and Lekota despite Mvume Dandala being the party's Presidential candidate and Parliamentary leader. It remains to be seen how Cope will progress in the near future.

The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) under long-serving president Mangosuthu Buthelezi lost support compared with the 2004 elections. The party received 4,55% of the national vote compared with the 6,97% received in the previous election. This change can be attributed to huge losses to the ANC in the KwaZulu-Natal province, a traditional IFP stronghold. The IFP received 22,40% of the provincial vote, down from the 36,82% received in 2004. The ANC received 62,95% of the provincial vote this time round, as opposed to the 46,98% it received in 2004. This can most likely be attributed to the ANC's nomination of a Zulu leader in Zuma, as opposed to the party's traditional Xhosa candidates, such as Mbeki and Nelson Mandela in previous elections

Cope gave South African voters a credible alternative to the ANC and DA, thus drawing a great deal of support away from the smaller parties within the South African political system. Smaller parties such as the Independent Democrats, the United Democratic Movement and the Freedom Front Plus all lost votes and were marginalised by the emergence of Cope on the political stage. The rest of the parties that contested the election made up the electoral percentage with a combined 2,87% of the vote, down from the 2004 figure of 6,07%.

Post election situation

Generally, the elections in South Africa were considered to be free and fair. However, there were a number of incidents of ballot fixing during the electoral process. One of these incidents included a number of premarked IFP ballots found at a polling station in KwaZulu-Natal on the eve of the election. The guilty election officer was subsequently arrested by authorities. Overall, the election result and ANC victory was acknowledged and recognised by all the relevant political parties, as well as endorsed by the International Electoral Committee.

There were no reports of election violence as South Africans across the country peacefully and patiently cast their ballots on Election Day. Zuma was subsequently inaugurated as South Africa's fourth President since democracy, at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on May 9, 2009. Motlanthe was named Deputy President.

* Please see attachment for Cabinet list

President Zuma made sweeping changes to his Cabinet, which included the restructuring of certain Ministries as well as the creation of new posts. The overhaul of the Cabinet, according to Zuma, was aimed at creating a structure that would enable government to “achieve visible and tangible socioeconomic development within the next five years and effectively implement policy”.

The Presidency

Some of the most noticeable changes to the governing structure were the creation of a National Planning Commission (NPC) and a Performance Monitoring and Evaluation portfolio based within the Presidency. According to Zuma, “the NPC will be responsible for strategic planning for the country to ensure one National Plan to which all spheres of government would adhere, and therefore provide a more comprehensive view of socioeconomic development”. The Minister of the NPC is former Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel. Manuel’s successor as head of the Finance Ministry, is former South African Revenue Service governor Pravin Gordhan.

In addition, a Performance Monitoring and Evaluation competency was created within the Presidency to monitor and evaluate the performance of government in all three spheres of government. The position was given to Collins Chabane.

Departmental Changes

The previous Ministry of Minerals and Energy was split into two separate departments: the Department of Energy under Dipuo Peters, and the Department of Mining under Susan Shabangu.

The Ministry of Education was split into the Departments of Basic Education, under Angie Motshekga, and Higher Education under South African Communist Party general secretary Blade Nzimande. Nzimande was considered a key ally to Zuma in his power struggle with Thabo Mbeki.

The Housing Department was renamed the Department of Human Settlements to adopt a more holistic approach by the Ministry. Business tycoon Tokyo Sexwale was named Minister.

The Department of Land Affairs, renamed the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, is headed by Gugile Nkwinti.

The Department of Economic Development was established to focus on economic policymaking and is headed up by the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union secretary-general Ebrahim Patel.

The Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and People with Disabilities was created to focus on implementing equity and development for vulnerable groups in society. The Ministry is headed up by Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya.

Further changes include:

The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry becoming the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs.

The Department of Tourism has been separated from the former Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.

The Department of Agriculture became the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Finally, the Department of Provincial and Local Government has been renamed the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.


Future Challenges

President Zuma and his Cabinet are faced with a host of challenges. Internally, Zuma is faced with the task of coordinating his expanded Cabinet to work efficiently and effectively in tackling a variety of problems facing the country. It is hoped that the establishment of the National Planning Commission under Trevor Manuel will go a long way in achieving these goals.

It also remains to be seen what kind of policies Zuma will implement. Zuma’s appointment as President is seen by many as a move to the left, as his rise to power is often associated with trade union support, specifically from the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party. Although this may worry business, Zuma has since expressed his commitment to favourable business policies with favourable Ministerial appointments to key positions within his Cabinet and is expected to follow a macroeconomic policy similar to that of his predecessor Mbeki, which was shaped to a large degree by Trevor Manuel. Zuma may face a degree of difficulty in balancing probusiness policies and appeasing pressure from the left.

Among the major challenges facing the country are:

Economic Crisis

Zuma comes into power in the midst of the country’s first economic recession in 17 years and his term will be judged to a large extent on the way that he deals with this crisis. He will no doubt be looking at measures to shield the economy as much as possible from the global recession and stimulate local industry. Once again, Zuma will have to play a balancing act between business and labour over policy formation and implementation. He will be looking to his economic team for ways to spur recovery and growth.

Service Delivery

One of the perennial problems facing post apartheid South Africa, service delivery, will be a prominent issue facing Zuma’s government. Much of Zuma’s election campaign focused on improving and intensifying service delivery and improving people’s lives. In the face of rising violent protest around the country Zuma will do well to keep his promises of providing all South Africans with basic needs.


HIV/Aids

The appointment of a medical doctor, Aaron Motsoaledi, as Minister of Health indicates that Zuma recognises the health problems facing the country. Motsoaledi inherits a Ministry in crisis as the country’s health system is plagued with problems such as mismanagement, overcrowding of hospitals and a lack of funding. Despite praiseworthy efforts by Barbara Hogan to turn the health system around, the legacy left by previous Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang during the Mbeki era still haunts the country. With one of the highest HIV/Aids infection rates in the world Zuma has a lot to do when it comes to restoring the credibility of the health system in South Africa.

Crime and Corruption

With rising crime rates in the country and alarm at the increase in associated violence, Zuma’s watch will be judged on the success of endeavours to gain control of criminal elements.

Corruption across government departments is also a major concern and one which Zuma and his government need to address should he want to restore credibility to certain departments such as the Department of Home Affairs, which is rife with corruption.

Education

Despite the expansion and democratisation of the education system in post apartheid South Africa, matric pass rates in the country are worryingly low. According to an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Economic Survey measuring scholastic achievement in reading and mathematics, South Africa scored the lowest of all OECD countries in both categories.

Despite ambitious goals for increasing matric pass rates, only 70% of the country’s pass rates are accounted for by only 11% of schools. According to the OECD, key problems behind these issues include: a lack of teacher training, a shortage of texts and basic infrastructure, teacher absenteeism, HIV/Aids and the continued disparity between public and private schools.

Zuma and his Cabinet are faced with the great challenge of addressing the county’s faltering education system. The Education Ministry is faced with the difficult task of providing education to all people that is of a high enough standard to ensure a high level of matric pass rates.

The split of the previous Department of Education into two separate Ministries – the Department of Higher Education (under Nzimande) and the Department of Basic Education (under Motshekga – signifies that Zuma is prepared to place more emphasis on each respective educational tier and thus recognises the different challenges that each Department faces.


Zimbabwe

Former President Thabo Mbeki’s policy of quiet diplomacy towards Zimbabwe was largely considered unsuccessful in mediating the dispute between Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai. The Southern African Development Community, along with the international community, will therefore be looking to Zuma to take a harder line against the country’s northern neighbour. An unstable Zimbabwe translates into a number of socioeconomic problems for South Africa, as refugees continue to cross the country’s leaky borders to join thousands of their compatriots, thus compounding the unemployment problems. Last year, South African citizens violently lashed out at foreigners who were perceived to be taking their jobs in a bout of vicious xenophobia that rocked the country. Government will be under pressure to prevent such incidents in the future.

Conclusion

It is clear that Zuma and his new government face a variety of problems and challenges, and it is important to realise that the unfavourable economic circumstances will add pressure. It is how the new government identifies, channels and addresses these problems that is the basis on which they will be judged.

Main Sources

Polity. Breakdown of seats available in the National Assembly. (April 30 2009)
Polity. National Results. (April 30 2009)
Polity. Provincial Results. (April 30 2009)
Polity. Breakdown of seats available in the Provincial Legislatures. (April 30 2009)
Polity. Zuma overhauls Cabinet. (May 11 2009)
Polity. Polity’s Election Results Special Report (April 30 2009)
Polity. Zuma to be sworn in as President (May 8 2009)
www.eisa.org.za
OECD. OECD Economic Surveys: South Africa Economic Assessment (Vol 2008/15, July 2008)

Cabinet

* Please see attachment for Cabinet list

President Zuma made sweeping changes to his Cabinet, which included the restructuring of certain Ministries as well as the creation of new posts. The overhaul of the Cabinet, according to Zuma, was aimed at creating a structure that would enable government to "achieve visible and tangible socioeconomic development within the next five years and effectively implement policy".

The Presidency

Some of the most noticeable changes to the governing structure were the creation of a National Planning Commission (NPC) and a Performance Monitoring and Evaluation portfolio based within the Presidency. According to Zuma, "the NPC will be responsible for strategic planning for the country to ensure one National Plan to which all spheres of government would adhere, and therefore provide a more comprehensive view of socioeconomic development". The Minister of the NPC is former Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel. Manuel's successor as head of the Finance Ministry, is former South African Revenue Service governor Pravin Gordhan.

In addition, a Performance Monitoring and Evaluation competency was created within the Presidency to monitor and evaluate the performance of government in all three spheres of government. The position was given to Collins Chabane.

Departmental Changes

The previous Ministry of Minerals and Energy was split into two separate departments: the Department of Energy under Dipuo Peters, and the Department of Mining under Susan Shabangu.

The Ministry of Education was split into the Departments of Basic Education, under Angie Motshekga, and Higher Education under South African Communist Party general secretary Blade Nzimande. Nzimande was considered a key ally to Zuma in his power struggle with Thabo Mbeki.

The Housing Department was renamed the Department of Human Settlements to adopt a more holistic approach by the Ministry. Business tycoon Tokyo Sexwale was named Minister.

The Department of Land Affairs, renamed the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, is headed by Gugile Nkwinti.

The Department of Economic Development was established to focus on economic policymaking and is headed up by the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union secretary-general Ebrahim Patel.

The Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and People with Disabilities was created to focus on implementing equity and development for vulnerable groups in society. The Ministry is headed up by Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya.

Further changes include:

The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry becoming the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs.

The Department of Tourism has been separated from the former Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.

The Department of Agriculture became the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Finally, the Department of Provincial and Local Government has been renamed the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.

Future Challenges

President Zuma and his Cabinet are faced with a host of challenges. Internally, Zuma is faced with the task of coordinating his expanded Cabinet to work efficiently and effectively in tackling a variety of problems facing the country. It is hoped that the establishment of the National Planning Commission under Trevor Manuel will go a long way in achieving these goals.

It also remains to be seen what kind of policies Zuma will implement. Zuma's appointment as President is seen by many as a move to the left, as his rise to power is often associated with trade union support, specifically from the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party. Although this may worry business, Zuma has since expressed his commitment to favourable business policies with favourable Ministerial appointments to key positions within his Cabinet and is expected to follow a macroeconomic policy similar to that of his predecessor Mbeki, which was shaped to a large degree by Trevor Manuel. Zuma may face a degree of difficulty in balancing probusiness policies and appeasing pressure from the left.

Among the major challenges facing the country are:

Economic Crisis

Zuma comes into power in the midst of the country's first economic recession in 17 years and his term will be judged to a large extent on the way that he deals with this crisis. He will no doubt be looking at measures to shield the economy as much as possible from the global recession and stimulate local industry. Once again, Zuma will have to play a balancing act between business and labour over policy formation and implementation. He will be looking to his economic team for ways to spur recovery and growth.

Service Delivery

One of the perennial problems facing post apartheid South Africa, service delivery, will be a prominent issue facing Zuma's government. Much of Zuma's election campaign focused on improving and intensifying service delivery and improving people's lives. In the face of rising violent protest around the country Zuma will do well to keep his promises of providing all South Africans with basic needs.

HIV/Aids

The appointment of a medical doctor, Aaron Motsoaledi, as Minister of Health indicates that Zuma recognises the health problems facing the country. Motsoaledi inherits a Ministry in crisis as the country's health system is plagued with problems such as mismanagement, overcrowding of hospitals and a lack of funding. Despite praiseworthy efforts by Barbara Hogan to turn the health system around, the legacy left by previous Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang during the Mbeki era still haunts the country. With one of the highest HIV/Aids infection rates in the world Zuma has a lot to do when it comes to restoring the credibility of the health system in South Africa.

Crime and Corruption

With rising crime rates in the country and alarm at the increase in associated violence, Zuma's watch will be judged on the success of endeavours to gain control of criminal elements.

Corruption across government departments is also a major concern and one which Zuma and his government need to address should he want to restore credibility to certain departments such as the Department of Home Affairs, which is rife with corruption.

Education

Despite the expansion and democratisation of the education system in post apartheid South Africa, matric pass rates in the country are worryingly low. According to an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Economic Survey measuring scholastic achievement in reading and mathematics, South Africa scored the lowest of all OECD countries in both categories.

Despite ambitious goals for increasing matric pass rates, only 70% of the country's pass rates are accounted for by only 11% of schools. According to the OECD, key problems behind these issues include: a lack of teacher training, a shortage of texts and basic infrastructure, teacher absenteeism, HIV/Aids and the continued disparity between public and private schools.

Zuma and his Cabinet are faced with the great challenge of addressing the county's faltering education system. The Education Ministry is faced with the difficult task of providing education to all people that is of a high enough standard to ensure a high level of matric pass rates.

The split of the previous Department of Education into two separate Ministries - the Department of Higher Education (under Nzimande) and the Department of Basic Education (under Motshekga - signifies that Zuma is prepared to place more emphasis on each respective educational tier and thus recognises the different challenges that each Department faces.

Zimbabwe

Former President Thabo Mbeki's policy of quiet diplomacy towards Zimbabwe was largely considered unsuccessful in mediating the dispute between Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai. The Southern African Development Community, along with the international community, will therefore be looking to Zuma to take a harder line against the country's northern neighbour. An unstable Zimbabwe translates into a number of socioeconomic problems for South Africa, as refugees continue to cross the country's leaky borders to join thousands of their compatriots, thus compounding the unemployment problems. Last year, South African citizens violently lashed out at foreigners who were perceived to be taking their jobs in a bout of vicious xenophobia that rocked the country. Government will be under pressure to prevent such incidents in the future.

Conclusion

It is clear that Zuma and his new government face a variety of problems and challenges, and it is important to realise that the unfavourable economic circumstances will add pressure. It is how the new government identifies, channels and addresses these problems that is the basis on which they will be judged.

Main Sources

Polity. Breakdown of seats available in the National Assembly. (April 30 2009)
Polity. National Results. (April 30 2009)
Polity. Provincial Results. (April 30 2009)
Polity. Breakdown of seats available in the Provincial Legislatures. (April 30 2009)
Polity. Zuma overhauls Cabinet. (May 11 2009)
Polity. Polity's Election Results Special Report (April 30 2009)
Polity. Zuma to be sworn in as President (May 8 2009)
www.eisa.org.za
OECD. OECD Economic Surveys: South Africa Economic Assessment (Vol 2008/15, July 2008)