2024 South African general election

2024 South African general election

29 May 2024
All 400 seats in the National Assembly 201 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	58.64% ( 7.41pp)
Party Leader % Seats +/– ANC Cyril Ramaphosa 40.18 159 −71 DA John Steenhuisen 21.81 87 +3 MK Jacob Zuma 14.58 58 New EFF Julius Malema 9.52 39 −5 IFP Velenkosini Hlabisa 3.85 17 +3 PA Gayton McKenzie 2.06 9 +9 VF+ Pieter Groenewald 1.36 6 −4 ActionSA Herman Mashaba 1.20 6 New ACDP Kenneth Meshoe 0.60 3 −1 UDM Bantu Holomisa 0.49 3 +1 RISE Songezo Zibi 0.42 2 New BOSA Mmusi Maimane 0.41 2 New ATM Vuyolwethu Zungula 0.40 2 0 Al Jama-ah Ganief Hendricks 0.24 2 +1 NCC Fadiel Adams 0.23 2 +2 PAC Mzwanele Nyhontso 0.23 1 0 UAT Wonder Mahlatsi 0.22 1 New Good Patricia de Lille 0.18 1 −1 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. Results per region President before Cyril Ramaphosa ANC

General elections were held in South Africa on 29 May 2024 to elect a new National Assembly as well as the provincial legislature in each of the nine provinces. This was the seventh general election held under the conditions of universal adult suffrage since the end of the apartheid era in 1994. The new National Council of Provinces (NCOP) will be elected at the first sitting of each provincial legislature.

The election is notable for the decline in support for the African National Congress (ANC) which lost the parliamentary majority that it has held since the inaugural post-apartheid election in 1994, and the rise of uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) led by former president Jacob Zuma, which came in third place.

Background

The election date of 29 May 2024 was declared by the incumbent president Cyril Ramaphosa on 20 February.

Going into the election, polls showed that support for the ANC was declining significantly, leading to expectations of a hung parliament. In the 2021 South African municipal elections, the African National Congress received less than 50% of the total vote for the first time since the end of apartheid' also losing support in the key metros of Tshwane (Pretoria), Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, and eThekwini (Durban). The ANC retained control of eThekwini while the Democratic Alliance managed to take control of Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni through a majority coalition and a minority coalition respectively, in addition to forming a majority coalition government in Tshwane, which it had governed since 2016.

In early 2023, the ANC and Economic Freedom Fighters formed a coalition in Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni where the two parties held MMC positions whilst electing a mayor from a minority party. In April 2023, noting the prospects of an ANC/EFF national coalition, the DA leader John Steenhuisen called for "like-minded" parties to join together to prevent a "doomsday coalition".

uMkhonto we Sizwe

On 16 December 2023, former president Jacob Zuma announced his departure from the ANC, accusing the party and incumbent president Cyril Ramaphosa of serving as a "proxy for white monopoly capital." He was also noted as calling the ANC "sellouts" and "Apartheid collaborators" He also announced establishment of his own political party, uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), named after the apartheid-era military wing of the ANC. The latter filed a lawsuit against the MK's registration in the Electoral Commission of South Africa, which was dismissed by the Electoral Court of South Africa on 26 March 2024 due to lack of merit. The ANC also plans to file a lawsuit against the party's naming after the historic MK. According to opinion polling, MK could become the kingmakers after the elections.

On 28 March 2024, the Electoral Commission barred Zuma from standing in the election, citing a previous criminal conviction. MK appealed the ruling, with Zuma's lawyers arguing that the conviction was of a civil nature, and the decision was overturned by the Electoral Court on 9 April, permitting Zuma to stand. On 12 April, the Electoral Commission announced that it would approach the Constitutional Court for clarity on section 47(1)(e) of the constitution, the provision used to uphold the initial objection against Zuma. On 30 April, police launched an investigation into whether the MK had forged signatures in order to be able to register for the election. On 20 May, Zuma was ruled ineligible to stand for the election by the Constitutional Court, citing his criminal conviction. He was still allowed to campaign for MK and his name was retained on the ballot as party leader.

Multi-Party Charter

A pre-election agreement called the Multi-Party Charter was signed between the Democratic Alliance (DA), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus), ActionSA and three other parties with the aim of presenting a united front against the three-decade rule of the African National Congress (ANC) party and the rise of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK Party) and Patriotic Alliance (PA). The Spectrum National Party, Ekhethu People's Party and Unemployed National Party joined the MPC but failed to meet the Independent Electoral Commission's minimum number of signatures required to contest seats in the National Assembly. On 7 October 2023, the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) joined the charter. Going into the election, the MPC members represented 112 of the 400 seats in the National Assembly.

Voter turnout

Voter turnout has been decreasing since the end of Apartheid, when 86% of eligible voters turned out. For this election, 27 million people were eligible to vote. Fifty-five percent of them were women, while voter registration was highest among those aged between 30 to 39 years old. Only 58% of the country's registered voters voted in the election.

Electoral system

South Africa has a parliamentary system of government. The president of South Africa is unusual among heads of state of countries with a parliamentary system in that the head of government, who holds executive powers, is titled president and also plays the ceremonial role of head of state.

In June 2020, the Constitutional Court ruled in New Nation Movement NPC v President of the Republic of South Africa that the Electoral Act was unconstitutional to the extent that it did not allow independents to contest national and provincial elections. Since the first elections held under universal suffrage, 400 members elected were elected to the National Assembly by a system of proportional representation with a closed list approach. Two hundred members were elected from national party lists, while the other 200 were elected from provincial party lists in each of the nine provinces. The national list seats were awarded by subtracting seats won at the provincial level from each party's national allocation to generate a maximally proportional result. The Droop quota variant of the largest remainder method was used to allocate seats at both the national and provincial levels. Provincial legislatures were also elected by a system of proportional representation with closed party lists.

In February 2021, home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi appointed a ministerial advisory committee led by Valli Moosa to recommend a new electoral system. While the committee was divided, a slim majority of members favoured a hybrid mixed-member proportional system, with half of the seats elected in constituencies and the other half elected through party lists.

Regional ballot

The regional ballot is one of the three ballots used in South Africa's national elections, alongside the national ballot and provincial ballot. It is used to elect representatives to the National Assembly from each of the country's nine provinces. The regional ballot is proportional, meaning that seats are allocated to parties and independent candidates based on the number of votes received.

National Assembly regional seats:

Region	Seats
Eastern Cape	25
Free State	11
Gauteng	48
KwaZulu-Natal	41
Limpopo	19
Mpumalanga	15
North West	13
Northern Cape	5
Western Cape	23
Total	200

Election of the National Assembly and provincial legislatures

On 17 April 2023, president Cyril Ramaphosa signed the South African Electoral Amendment Bill into law allowing independent candidates to stand for election to the National Assembly and provincial legislatures while keeping proportional representation with closed lists. Two hundred members will be elected from national party lists, while the remaining 200 seats will be contested by political parties and independent candidates in each of the nine provinces. In provincial legislatures, the single-tier multimember proportional system will continue to apply, with political parties and independent candidates contesting for seats. Voters will receive three ballot papers as opposed to two in previous elections; the first ballot will be to elect the 200 members of the National Assembly only contested by political parties; the second ballot will be to elect the remaining 200 members of the National Assembly, which will be contested by political parties and independent candidates in each of the nine provinces; and the third ballot will be to elect members of the provincial legislatures with political parties and independent candidates as well.

Election of the president and premiers

Following the election, the president of South Africa will be elected by the National Assembly. Although the president is required to be a member of the National Assembly at the time of election, a person who is elected as president must resign their seat in order to assume office. The premiers of each province will also be elected by the respective provincial legislatures after the election.

NCOP elections

The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) comprises 90 members, ten of whom are elected by each of the provincial legislatures in proportion to the composition of the legislature. The NCOP members will be sworn in the day after the first sitting of the National Assembly.

Parties and candidates

Main article: Party lists for the 2024 South African election

The election saw 70 political parties register, the highest number for a general election in South Africa. It is also the first general election to allow independent candidates to run for the National Assembly.

Preliminary candidate lists

On 26 March 2024, the Independent Electoral Commission published the preliminary candidate lists, listing the following fifty-two parties as having national candidates (as opposed to regional and provincial): #Hope4SA, Abantu Batho Congress, Able Leadership, Action Alliance Development Party, ActionSA, Africa Africans Reclaim, African Christian Democratic Party, African Congress for Transformation, African Content Movement, African Heart Congress, African Independent Congress, African Movement Congress, African National Congress, African People's Convention, African People's Movement, African Transformation Movement, Al Jama-ah, All Citizens Party, Alliance of Citizens for Change, Allied Movement for Change (AM4C), Azanian People's Organisation, Build One South Africa with Mmusi Maimane, Citizans, Congress of the People, Conservatives in Action, Democratic Alliance, Democratic Liberal Congress, Economic Freedom Fighters, Economic Liberators Forum South Africa, Forum 4 Service Delivery, Free Democrats, Good, Independent South African National Civic Organisation, Inkatha Freedom Party, National Coloured Congress, National Freedom Party, Northern Cape Communities Movement, Organic Humanity Movement, Pan Africanist Congress of Azania, Patriotic Alliance, People's Movement for Change, Referendum Party, Rise Mzansi, Sizwe Ummah Nation, South African Rainbow Alliance, South African Royal Kingdoms Organization, uMkhonto weSizwe, United Africans Transformation, United Democratic Movement, United Independent Movement, Vryheidsfront Plus, and Xiluva.

Final candidate lists and independent candidates

On 10 April 2024, the Independent Electoral Commission published the final candidate lists, again listing fifty-two parties as having national compensatory candidates (as opposed to national regional and provincial). The Independent South African National Civic Organisation no longer appeared on the list, whereas the Africa Restoration Alliance was added. Six independent candidates appeared on the national regional lists, namely Zackie Achmat, Louis Liebenberg, Anele Mda, Lovemore N'dou, Ntakadzeni Phathela, and Lehlohonolo Ramoba.

Campaign issues

Healthcare

On 15 May 2024, two weeks before the election, president Ramaphosa signed the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act into law, establishing a National Health Insurance state fund to provide more South Africans access to private healthcare. The goal of the bill is to eventually phase out the use of private healthcare, replacing it with the NHI as the sole purchaser and provider of health insurance. The DA is staunchly opposed to the bill on the premise that it could lead to large tax increases and corruption by ANC "cadre deployment," and have promised to challenge it in court.

The bill has been controversial because it would limit the ability for people to take out private health insurance to cover medical costs. Additionally, the government has not released official statistics regarding how much the NHI program would cost, raising concerns it could exacerbate South Africa's ongoing troubles providing public services such as electricity and water.

Illegal immigration

South Africa has been facing many challenges including deteriorating infrastructure in crucial sectors like power and water, alongside persistently high levels of unemployment and crime. The general public has pointed fingers at Illegal immigration, attributing the nation's woes to the presence of illegal migrants. Meanwhile, other voices within the political sphere, such as ActionSA, IFP, ATM and PA, call for tighter border controls in response to the perceived strain caused by undocumented migrants on public services and resources.

Corruption

Main articles: Corruption in South Africa and The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture

The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, known colloquially as the Zondo Commission, completed its work and submitted its final report to the president in June 2022. The Commission cost the South African taxpayer "almost R1 billion". Investigator Paul Holden of Shadow World Investigations read into evidence that state capture cost the South African economy at least R49 billion.

In their 2024 election manifesto, the African National Congress claims that, as per the Zondo Commission's recommendations, "laws, institutions and practices are being put in place to reduce the potential for corruption of any sort and on any scale". The Democratic Alliance puts the blame for corruption and state capture squarely on the shoulders of the ANC, saying that it will "establish a genuinely independent anti-crime and anti-corruption unit by dissolving the Hawks and establishing a new Chapter 9 institution, an Anti-Corruption Commission, which will only be accountable to the Parliament of South Africa." The Economic Freedom Fighters proposes to amend the Constitution to "make the National Prosecuting Authority a Chapter 9 institution accountable to Parliament".

The ANC was also criticized for provisionally including four ministers (Zizi Kodwa, Malusi Gigaba, David Mahlobo, and Gwede Mantashe) who were implicated in a corruption investigation into the administration of former president Jacob Zuma on 11 March, pending the final results of an intraparty review. Fourteen other officials were either disqualified or not listed as candidates by the ANC over the same issue.

Land reform

Main article: Land reform in South Africa

The ANC's proposed amendment of section 25 of the constitution of South Africa failed in the Parliament of South Africa, by a vote of 204 MPs in favour, 145 MPs against and 0 abstentions. The bill required a two-thirds majority. The constitutionality of the amendment was also questioned by civil society organisations. The ANC maintains that expropriation without compensation is necessary, as does the EFF. The DA and Freedom Front Plus, ACDP and IFP remain opposed to the ANC's renewed attempt at expropriation through the Expropriation Amendment Bill.

Moves towards expropriation without compensation are largely framed as solutions to racial injustice. In fact, many members of pro-expropriation parties view the policy as fulfilling Nelson Mandela's promise to return 30% of South Africa's land to black people. The issue of racial justice becomes particularly salient when looking at disparities in agricultural production and environmental harms, with the majority of land in South Africa being owned by white people. Reports from the South African government indicate that whites own 72% of total farms of agricultural holdings. This means that black South Africans are generally only responsible for between 5 and 10% of the country's agricultural output.

The different parties have radically different positions on this issue. The ANC sees the current policy as a continuation of Nelson Mandela's promise. The policy (returning 30% of the land to black South Africans) has obviously been unsuccessful thus far. Currently, the ANC hopes to accomplish the goal by 2030. In their election manifesto, the ANC claims that they will "accelerate land reform and redistribution to reduce asset inequality and protect security of tenure, improve food security and agricultural production, promote rural and urban development and enable greater access to housing." This type of rhetoric and argumentation appears repeatedly throughout the manifesto. To the ANC, it is clear that expropriation is a matter of multi-faceted racial justice. Similarly to the energy crisis, there is certainly an environmental aspect, as agricultural inequalities become particularly salient in the debate.

The EFF shares a similar stance to that of the ANC. In their manifesto, the EFF outlines seven pillars on which they are basing their policies. The first is explicitly in favor of expropriation, reading "expropriation of South Africa's land without compensation for equal redistribution in use." This stance makes sense given the parties Marxist and black nationalist ideology. On the issue of expropriation, the EFF and ANC are mostly unified. In fact, the EFF has often led the charge on expropriation, becoming one of the cause's biggest supporters. Julius Malema, leader of the EFF, asserted that "when we say economic freedom, we mean Black people own productive farms."

Oppositely, the DA does not support the policy of expropriation without compensation. The party sees attempts at expropriation as violating section 25 of the Constitution. Furthermore, when the ANC and other parties have attempted to amend the constitution to be more amenable to their proposals, the DA has stood in staunch opposition. The party has called attempts to pass expropriation legislation "ruinous," an "assault on our constitutional values," and "archaic."

Energy crisis

Main article: South African energy crisis

Rolling blackouts, or "loadshedding", caused by problems with the state utility Eskom have been occurring since 2007, however the prevalence of blackouts has increased substantially since 2020. There is general dissatisfaction with the ANC's handling of the blackouts, as "a poll from last May found that 24% of voters who had previously backed the ANC planned to take their votes elsewhere if load shedding... is not resolved." That being said, the issue will likely continue to be salient well after the election, as any government, new or incumbent, will have limited tools to combat the issue.

The parties have taken varying stances on the issue. The ANC has pledged to create 12.5 million new jobs, a large portion of which will be devoted to a clean energy transition and modernisation of the nation's electrical system. The ANC has also linked the blackouts and energy crisis to environmental justice and climate change, claiming that its energy transition platform is also part of a larger transition to a cleaner economy. According to the ANC's election manifesto, the party pledges to "cultivate partnerships to expand domestic industries with significant potential to create sustainable jobs... such as energy." Additionally, the party views a clean energy transition as essential in solving the energy crisis. Part of this transition is moving away from the coal-based electrical grid that is currently facing loadshedding. That being said, the ANC has shown historical resistance to transitioning to new energy sources (ie. renewables). Much of this has to do with concerns about the cost of the transition, as well as the ability for Eskom to carry out a transition effectively.

The DA largely blames the ANC for Africa's energy crisis, saying that the state uses an "outdated" model of control and regulation. The DA intends to reduce government control over the energy sector if it is able to form a government. Using the Western Cape as a case study, the DA says it has a successful platform for energy solutions. They argue that recent contracts to build new solar plants in the area are indicative of this. Much of their energy platform has to do with deregulation and reducing taxes on private entities.

Other smaller parties take a range of stances on the energy crisis. The EFF, for instance, takes a more Marxist and black nationalist approach to the issue. The party calls for the end of the privatization of Eskom. The EFF overtly links the issue to both racial and environmental justice. In line with their black nationalist perspectives, the party calls for the involvement of the private sector in new electricity generation (not the privatisation of Eskom), hoping to shift control to the "majority of black people."

All this withstanding, the energy crisis has undoubtedly become a salient issue due to its wide-ranging impacts. The loadshedding affects both rural and urban areas. In rural areas, the blackouts have led to large issues in agricultural production. For instance, if a farm is reliant on electricity-powered irrigation pumps, then production capacity is greatly limited by blackouts. In urban areas, the blackouts necessitate the use of diesel generators, which increases air pollution. Additionally, the rolling blackouts lead to the continued use of coal in electricity plants. When generation capacity is low, it creates "grounds to keep coal-fired units running with emissions above the license limits." Back to the environmental impact on rural areas, loadshedding reduces the capacity of large agricultural enterprises. This increases sustenance farming practices without any significant reduction in agribusiness. This creates a potential for deforestation. The parties are attempting to navigate a transition to cleaner sources of energy. South Africa's power grid is largely dependent on aging coal infrastructure, which is becoming increasingly ineffective and environmentally toxic.

Crime

Main article: Crime in South Africa

According to the South African Police Service Crime Statistics for Quarter 2 of the 2023-24 financial year, reported contact crimes (defined by SAPS as "crimes against the person") has increased by 3 391 (2.1%) compared to the previous year. Recorded attempted murder illustrated the highest increase year-on-year, with 12.3%. Total contact crimes reported for the quarter are 165,909. The murder rate correlates to 77 people murdered per day, while 160 cases of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm are reported over the same period. In context of the election, political violence is reportedly on the rise, especially in KwaZulu-Natal.

Crime Statistics for Quarter 3 of the 2023-24 financial year show an increase of 3.8% compared to the previous year. Attempted murder once again illustrated the highest increase year-on-year, with 13%. Total contact crimes reported for the quarter are 190,973. The murder rate correlates to 86 people per day and 88 attempts at murder. Assault with the attempt to do grievous bodily harm (Assault GBH) correlates to 595 incidents per day.

Action Society notes that "if the current murder trend continues, at least 31 000 people will be killed in the next 12 months...the [South African Government] has lost control..."

Devolution of policing

Over the last term of government, the devolution of policing power has become a key issue between the Western Cape Government and the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele. The Western Cape Government argues that the Minister has the power to devolve policing, but the Minister denies having the power of devolution, saying that "the centralisation of the SAPS [is] in line with the Department [of Police's] constitutional mandate to prevent, combat and investigate crime..." Section 205 of the Constitution of South Africa sets out policing policy in South Africa, noting that the police service "must be structured to function in national [and] provincial...spheres of government." The Constitution gives provincial executives the power to monitor police conduct within their respective provinces, as well as the responsibility for policing functions in three cases; namely Chapter 11 of the Constitution, assigned to provincial government in terms of national legislation and allocated to it in national policing policy.

Housing

Main article: Land reform in South Africa

The lack of adequate housing has been a major issue. According to a report from Parliament, dated May 2022, the human settlements sector had a total of 3.4 million housing units built since 1994. The respective provinces and municipalities delivered a separate 1.3 million "serviced sites". A parliamentary question to the Minister of Human Settlements revealed there were 2,456,773 households registered on the National Housing Needs Register as of February 2023. In the City of Cape Town, there were 375,150 on the municipalities' Housing Needs Register.

In answer to a Parliamentary question to the Minister of Human Settlements on 24 March 2024, she stated that her Department had built 245,587 houses in the five years between January 2019 and January 2024.

Cadre deployment

The ANC has practised a policy of employing people who are loyal to the ANC to positions within institutions of government. The Zondo Commission has found that cadre deployment played a significant part in corruption and went as far as to say that it is "illegal and unconstitutional".

On 12 February 2024, the Constitutional Court ruled that the ANC had five days to hand over their cadre deployment records to the Democratic Alliance dating back to 1 January 2013. Documents released by the DA so far contain a sworn affidavit from Thapelo Masilela, a Strategic Support Manager in the Office of the ANC Deputy Secretary General's Office which states that a laptop containing information in relation to the Deployment Committee had "crashed and...data which was stored on that hard drive had been lost". DA Federal Leader, John Steenhuisen responded in a press briefing on 23 February 2024 saying "the missing laptops, the missing minutes, President's Cyril Ramaphosa WhatsApp's from his own personal devices are simply incongruent with the way in which the modern world works", showing that the party does not believe that the ANC has entirely complied with the order of the Constitutional Court.

Foreign policy

Cyril Ramaphosa said that South Africa v. Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) may lead to foreign interference in the general election.

The African Growth & Opportunity Act

Main article: African Growth and Opportunity Act

South Africa's links to Russia and China, through military co-operation and potential co-operation with Iran has placed the country in danger of losing its preferential access to the U.S. market through the African Growth and Opportunity Act, with multiple members of the U.S. Congress raising concern with South Africa's alleged threats to U.S. interests, the most high-ranking member being Senator Jim Risch, the Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In response, the Leader of the Opposition, John Steenhuisen led a delegation arguing that "the ANC is not South Africa" in an effort to lessen the risk of a possible removal from AGOA. Later, the Western Cape Premier, Alan Winde and a Western Cape Government delegation also made a trip to the United States to detail the possible impact that a loss would have on the agricultural industry in the province. The Leader of the Opposition in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament, Cameron Dugmore (ANC) accused the provincial government of wasting taxpayer's money, saying "this trip was about the DA’s desperation to secure support for the 2024 elections by creating a certain narrative about this matter".

Cape independence

Main article: Cape independence

The Freedom Front Plus and the Referendum Party contested the election with Cape independence as part of their platform. The Referendum Party was formed in November 2023 as a single-issue political party aiming to pressure the Western Cape Democratic Alliance government into holding a referendum on Western Cape independence as part of any potential coalition agreement. The Cape Independence Party, which had contested in 2009 and 2019, did not make it on to the national ballot or the Western Cape provincial ballot, while the Referendum Party made it on to all three.

Highly contested provinces

Gauteng

Gauteng is the most populated province and is the de facto economic hub of South Africa. In 2019 the ANC had barely retained the province, getting 50.19% of the vote. The DA hoped to win Gauteng with Solly Msimanga as their premier candidate. Funzi Ngobeni is ActionSA's premier candidate, while the ANC's candidate is current premier, Panyaza Lesufi.

The ANC lost its majority in Gauteng, claiming under 37% of the vote, followed by the DA with just under 27%.

KwaZulu-Natal

KwaZulu-Natal is the second most populated province and is home to the busiest port in southern Africa. Recent polling has the new MK Party leading in the province, having grown substantially at the expense of ANC support. Christopher Pappas is the premier candidate for the DA, while Thami Ntuli is the IFP's candidate. The ANC's premier candidate is Sbongiseni Duma. MK took 45.9% of the vote, leaving the ANC with only 17.6%, the DA not far behind.

Western Cape

As of April 2024, the Western Cape is the only province not to be controlled by the ANC. The DA, which has controlled the province since 2009, looked to retain the province with Premier Alan Winde as their premier candidate.

The DA retained control of the Western Cape with a 53% majority.

Controversies

DA campaign video

In May 2024, the DA released a campaign video attacking the ANC and showing a South African flag on fire, saying that the same fate would befall the country should the ANC remain in power. The flag appears restored in the final seven seconds of the advert. DA leader John Steenhuisen described the video as "the most successful political advertisement in our democratic history," saying that it was seen by at least four million people online and heard by "millions more" in other media. President and ANC leader Cyril Ramaphosa called the ad "despicable" and "treasonous", while the public broadcaster SABC announced that it would not air the video, saying that it would only fuel "outrage", and called on the DA to amend the advert. Several analysts and organisations have noted that, although in "poor taste", the burning of the flag is protected under Section 16 of the Constitution as a freedom of expression.

The Complaints and Compliance Committee of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa ruled on 24 May that the SABC be directed to desist from not airing the advert and pay a R500,000 fine within seven days.

National Health Insurance

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on 13 May that he would sign the controversial National Health Insurance Bill into law on 15 May. Civil society organisations, including the South African Medical Association, Business Unity South Africa, Business Leadership South Africa, Solidariteit, the SA Institute of Race Relations and the South African Health Professionals Collaboration have expressed dissatisfaction at this announcement, some hinting at possible legal challenges to the legislation following the president's assent. The DA announced that it had briefed its legal team to file court papers at the Constitutional Court on the matter. ActionSA expressed its disappointment on the president's announcement, having previously urged the President not to sign the Bill.

Jacob Zuma

Former President Jacob Zuma founded the uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK Party) in December 2023, intending to contest the election. On 20 May 2024, the Constitutional Court of South Africa ruled that Zuma is ineligible to run in the parliamentary election due to his 2021 jail sentence.

Presidential Address to the Nation

On 26 May, the Presidency announced that Cyril Ramaphosa would address the nation at 6pm. In his address, broadcast by the SABC, he listed the achievements of his government. The address was criticised by opposition parties as an abuse of government resources for electioneering in favour of the ruling party.

Opinion polls

LOESS curve of the polling for the 2024 South African general election

Polling Organisation	Fieldwork Date	Sample Size	ANC	DA	MK	EFF	IFP	VF+	ACDP	ActionSA	Others	Don't Know	Lead
2024 general election	29 May 2024	—	40.2%	21.8%	14.6%	9.5%	3.9%	1.4%	0.6%	1.2%	6.8%	—	18.4
AtlasIntel	25–28 May 2024	2,308	38.5%	20.3%	14.7%	12.0%	2.5%	3.2%	0.8%	2.6%	5.4%	—	18.2
Social Research Foundation	27 May 2024	1,835	42.2%	21.6%	12.4%	10.8%	3.2%	—	—	—	9.8%	—	20.6
Social Research Foundation	23 May 2024	1,835	42.2%	24.4%	13.2%	9.3%	2.8%	—	—	—	8.1%	—	17.8
AFROBAROMETER	22 May 2024	1,800	36%	18%	13%	11%	—	—	—	—	22%	—	18
Social Research Foundation	13 May 2024	1,835	43.5%	24.2%	7.1%	9.4%	5.2%	—	—	—	10.6%	—	19.3
Social Research Foundation	6 May 2024	1,835	43.1%	24.8%	11.8%	7.8%	3.8%	—	—	—	8.7%	—	18.3
ENCA/Markdata	May 2024	TBA	43.4%	18.6%	14.1%	11.4%	3.1%	1.3%	0.6	1.4%	6.1%	—	24.8
Social Research Foundation	29 April 2024	1,835	44.0%	25.0%	9.3%	9.4%	4.2%	—	—	—	8.1%	—	19
Social Research Foundation	22 April 2024	1,835	40.7%	26.0%	13.5%	7.0%	5.6%	—	—	—	7.2%	—	14.7
Social Research Foundation	15 April 2024	1,835	36.5%	31.2%	11.3%	7.1%	2.4%	—	—	—	11.5%	—	5.3
IPSOS	9 March – 15 April 2024	2,545	40.2%	21.9%	8.4%	11.5%	4.4%	1.8%	—	3.4%	8.4%	—	18.3
Social Research Foundation	April 2024	1,835	37%	25%	13%	11%	5%	2%	2%	2%	3%	—	12
Brenthurst Foundation/SABI	12–28 February 2024	1,506	39%	27%	13%	10%	2%	—	—	2%	5%	—	12
ENCA/Markdata	19 January – 14 February 2024	3,022	41.4%	20%	10.9%	15.5%	4.3%	0.6%	0.5%	1.4%	5.4%	—	21.4
December 2023		uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK Party) splits from the ANC.
IPSOS	23 October – 1 December 2023	3,600	40.5%	20.5%	—	19.6%	4.9%	2.1%	1%	4.3%	7.1	—	20
IRR	October 2023	604	46.5%	26.1%	—	11.6%	9.4%	—	—	—	—	—	20.4
Social Research Foundation	October 2023	1,412	45%	31%	—	9%	6%	—	—	—	9%	—	14
7 October 2023		The ACDP joins the Multi-Party Charter. The charter now holds 112 out of the 400-seat National Assembly.
Brenthurst Foundation/SABI	11 September – 3 October 2023	1,500	41%	23%	—	17%	7%	2%	—	3%	4%	3%	18
17 July 2023		The Multi-Party Charter is signed between the DA, IFP, VF+, ActionSA and 3 other parties holding 108 of 400 National Assembly seats.
IPSOS & Inclusive Society Institute	1 June – 20 July 2023	3,600	43%	20%	—	18%	5%	2%	1%	4%	7%	—	23
Social Research Foundation	March 2023	1,517	45.9%	23.3%	—	8.4%	6.1%	2.2%	0.9%	3.1%	10.1%	—	22.6
IPSOS & Inclusive Society Institute	November 2022 – December 2022	< 3,600	49.9%	13.6%	—	12.7%	4.4%	—	—	4.1%	15.2%	—	36.3
IPSOS	26 October – 28 November 2022	3,513	45%	16%	—	13%	4%	—	—	—	22%		29
Brenthurst Foundation	27 October – 10 November 2022	1,000	47.6%	24%	—	10.7%	—	—	—	4%	12.2%	—	23.6
Rivonia Circle	September – October 2022	2,000	41%	18%	—	15%	—	—	—	6%	7%	13%	23
Social Research Foundation	July 2022	3,204	52%	25%	—	11%	—	—	—	5%	7%		27
			50%	25%	—	12%	—	—	—	6%	7%		25
Inclusive Society Institute	14 May – 3 July 2022	3,459	50.76%	18.14%	—	13.12%	3.47%	5.22%	1.16%	3.49%	4.65%	—	32.62
IPSOS			42%	11%	—	9%	2%	2%	1%	3%	4%	26%	31
2021 municipal elections	1 November 2021	N/A	47.52%	19.84%	—	10.54%	6.27%	2.32%	0.71%	1.82%	6.76%	—	27.68
IPSOS	1 November 2021	N/A	43.4%	24.2%	—	14.8%	1.9%	1.6%	0.9%	3.7%	9.5%	31%	19.2
IPSOS	July – September 2020	3,758	50%	16%	—	13%	2%	1%	—	—	2%	16%	34
IPSOS	20 September – 8 November 2019	3,600	55%	13%	—	8%	2%	1%	1%	—	3%	18%	42
2019 general election	8 May 2019	—	57.5%	20.8%	—	10.8%	3.4%	2.4%	0.8%	—	10.1%	—	36.7

Conduct

Early voting for overseas citizens was held in South African diplomatic missions on 17 and 18 May. Early voting for domestic voters was held on 27 May, covering 1.6 million people including essential workers and about 624,000 people unable to leave their homes. On election day, polling in more than 23,000 precincts opened at 07:00 and closed at 21:00. Three thousand SANDF soldiers were deployed to ensure security during the election, while the Independent Electoral Commission said two people were arrested for interfering with voting operations. Julius Malema voted in Limpopo after queuing for three hours. Counting was delayed in several precincts due to last-minute queues of voters, with the last ballots being cast at around 03:00 on 30 May as electoral law allows those still lining up to vote at regular closing time to participate. The African Union sent a mission led by former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta to monitor the election.

Results

National Assembly

The EFF's performance by region.

The MK's performance by region.

National ballot

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats
					National	Regional	Total	+/-
	African National Congress	6,459,683	40.18	17.32	73	86	159	71
	Democratic Alliance	3,505,735	21.81	1.04	42	45	87	3
	uMkhonto weSizwe	2,344,309	14.58	New	31	27	58	New
	Economic Freedom Fighters	1,529,961	9.52	1.28	17	22	39	5
	Inkatha Freedom Party	618,207	3.85	0.47	8	9	17	3
	Patriotic Alliance	330,425	2.06	2.02	5	4	9	9
	Freedom Front Plus	218,850	1.36	1.02	4	2	6	4
	ActionSA	192,373	1.20	New	4	2	6	New
	African Christian Democratic Party	96,575	0.60	0.24	3	0	3	1
	United Democratic Movement	78,448	0.49	0.04	2	1	3	1
	Rise Mzansi	67,975	0.42	New	1	1	2	New
	Build One South Africa	65,912	0.41	New	2	0	2	New
	African Transformation Movement	63,554	0.40	0.04	2	0	2	0
	Al Jama-ah	39,067	0.24	0.06	2	0	2	1
	National Coloured Congress	37,422	0.23	New	1	1	2	New
	Pan Africanist Congress of Azania	36,716	0.23	0.04	1	0	1	0
	United Africans Transformation	35,679	0.22	New	1	0	1	New
	GOOD	29,501	0.18	0.22	1	0	1	1
	Hope4SA	27,206	0.17	New	0	0	0	New
	Allied Movement for Change	22,055	0.14	New	0	0	0	New
	United Independent Movement	20,003	0.12	New	0	0	0	New
	African Independent Congress	19,900	0.12	0.16	0	0	0	0
	National Freedom Party	19,397	0.12	0.23	0	0	0	2
	Azanian People's Organisation	19,048	0.12	0.05	0	0	0	2
	African Congress for Transformation	18,354	0.11	New	0	0	0	New
	African Heart Congress	16,306	0.10	New	0	0	0	New
	Congress of the People	14,177	0.09	0.18	0	0	0	0
	African People's Convention	13,195	0.08	0.03	0	0	0	0
	Africa Restoration Alliance	11,108	0.07	New	0	0	0	New
	Forum for Service Delivery	11,077	0.07	0.03	0	0	0	0
	Democratic Liberal Congress	10,904	0.07	0.01	0	0	0	0
	Alliance of Citizens for Change	9,336	0.06	New	0	0	0	New
	Action Alliance Development Party	7,802	0.05	New	0	0	0	New
	Conservatives in Action	7,424	0.05	New	0	0	0	New
	South African Royal Kingdoms Organisation	6,685	0.04	New	0	0	0	New
	Northern Cape Communities Movement	6,629	0.04	New	0	0	0	New
	People's Movement for Change	5,539	0.03	New	0	0	0	New
	Abantu Batho Congress	5,531	0.03	New	0	0	0	New
	Economic Liberators Forum	5,408	0.03	New	0	0	0	New
	Organic Humanity Movement	5,241	0.03	New	0	0	0	New
	African Content Movement	5,107	0.03	0.00	0	0	0	0
	Sizwe Ummah Nation	5,016	0.03	New	0	0	0	New
	South African Rainbow Alliance	4,796	0.03	New	0	0	0	New
	African People's Movement	4,601	0.03	New	0	0	0	New
	Able Leadership	3,867	0.02	New	0	0	0	New
	Referendum Party	3,834	0.02	New	0	0	0	New
	All Citizens Party	3,693	0.02	New	0	0	0	New
	Africa Africans Reclaim	3,371	0.02	New	0	0	0	New
	Citizans	2,992	0.02	New	0	0	0	New
	Xiluva	2,592	0.02	New	0	0	0	New
	African Movement Congress	2,141	0.01	New	0	0	0	New
	Free Democrats	1,992	0.01	0.00	0	0	0	–
Total		16,076,719	100.00	–	200	200	400	–
Valid votes		16,076,719	98.69
Invalid/blank votes		213,437	1.31
Total votes		16,290,156	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		27,782,081	58.64
Source: Electoral Commission of South Africa, IOL

Nationwide

Party		Votes	%
	African National Congress	6,231,519	39.40
	Democratic Alliance	3,439,272	21.75
	uMkhonto weSizwe	2,237,877	14.15
	Economic Freedom Fighters	1,556,965	9.85
	Inkatha Freedom Party	688,570	4.35
	Patriotic Alliance	345,880	2.19
	Freedom Front Plus	234,477	1.48
	ActionSA	219,477	1.39
	African Christian Democratic Party	93,581	0.59
	United Democratic Movement	85,618	0.54
	Rise Mzansi	70,142	0.44
	Build One South Africa	69,020	0.44
	African Transformation Movement	66,831	0.42
	Al Jama-ah	53,337	0.34
	National Coloured Congress	47,178	0.30
	Pan Africanist Congress of Azania	40,788	0.26
	Good	36,103	0.23
	United Africans Transformation	32,185	0.20
	National Freedom Party	22,726	0.14
	United Independent Movement	18,907	0.12
	Azanian People's Organisation	18,741	0.12
	Allied Movement for Change	18,393	0.12
	Hope4SA	16,872	0.11
	Congress of the People	16,768	0.11
	African People's Convention	14,693	0.09
	Africa Restoration Alliance	12,651	0.08
	Alliance of Citizens for Change	11,217	0.07
	Zackie Achmat (Independent)	10,568	0.07
	South African Rainbow Alliance	7,645	0.05
	Forum for Service Delivery	7,444	0.05
	Economic Liberators Forum	7,115	0.04
	People's Movement for Change	7,045	0.04
	Democratic Liberal Congress	7,022	0.04
	Northern Cape Communities Movement	7,016	0.04
	Organic Humanity Movement	6,457	0.04
	Sizwe Ummah Nation	4,869	0.03
	African Content Movement	4,617	0.03
	Action Alliance Development Party	4,600	0.03
	Referendum Party	4,206	0.03
	African People's Movement	4,200	0.03
	Citizans	4,084	0.03
	African Independent Congress	3,833	0.02
	African Heart Congress	3,579	0.02
	Abantu Batho Congress	3,552	0.02
	South African Royal Kingdoms Organization	3,195	0.02
	Able Leadership	3,161	0.02
	Africa Africans Reclaim	2,565	0.02
	Free Democrats	2,276	0.01
	All Citizens Party	1,644	0.01
	African Movement Congress	1,550	0.01
	Xiluva	1,167	0.01
	Conservatives in Action	1,115	0.01
	African Congress for Transformation	348	0.00
Total		15,814,661	100.00
Source: South African Electoral Comission

Eastern Cape

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	African National Congress	1,118,028	62.38	-6.88	16	–2
	Democratic Alliance	266,919	14.89	-0.12	4	0
	Economic Freedom Fighters	182,809	10.20	+2.48	3	+1
	United Democratic Movement	63,606	3.55	+1.26	1	0
	Patriotic Alliance	42,393	2.37	+2.35	1	+1
	African Transformation Movement	28,115	1.57	+0.19	0	0
	uMkhonto weSizwe	26,246	1.46	New	0	–
	Pan Africanist Congress of Azania	9,496	0.53	+0.14	0	0
	Freedom Front Plus	9,288	0.52	-0.36	0	0
	ActionSA	8,588	0.48	New	0	New
	African Christian Democratic Party	8,529	0.48	-0.01	0	0
	Rise Mzansi	5,384	0.30	New	0	0
	Build One South Africa	4,852	0.27	New	0	0
	Azanian People's Organisation	2,807	0.16	+0.09	0	0
	Congress of the People	2,184	0.12	-0.12	0	0
	Alliance of Citizens for Change	1,964	0.11	New	0	New
	African People's Convention	1,906	0.11	+0.01	0	0
	GOOD	1,621	0.09	-0.13	0	0
	Inkatha Freedom Party	1,519	0.08	+0.03	0	0
	Al Jama-ah	1,458	0.08	+0.03	0	0
	United Independent Movement	1,333	0.07	New	0	New
	Organic Humanity Movement	570	0.03	New	0	New
	Citizans	449	0.03	New	0	New
	Sizwe Ummah Nation	344	0.02	New	0	New
	Africa Restoration Alliance	321	0.02	New	0	New
	South African Rainbow Alliance	310	0.02	New	0	New
	Free Democrats	299	0.02	+0.01	0	0
	Economic Liberators Forum	298	0.02	New	0	New
	People's Movement for Change	283	0.02	New	0	New
	Africa Africans Reclaim	233	0.01	New	0	New
Total		1,792,152	100.00	–	25	–
Valid votes		1,792,152	100.00
Invalid/blank votes		0	0.00
Total votes		1,792,152	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		3,439,320	52.11
Source: Electoral Commission of South Africa

Free State

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	African National Congress	433,806	52.56	6	–2
	Democratic Alliance	177,615	21.52	3	+1
	Economic Freedom Fighters	115,147	13.95	2	+1
	Freedom Front Plus	25,544	3.10	0	–
	uMkhonto weSizwe	18,515	2.24	0	New
	Patriotic Alliance	11,838	1.43	0	–
	African Transformation Movement	6,591	0.80	0	–
	ActionSA	4,823	0.58	0	New
	African Content Movement	4,617	0.56	–	–
	African Christian Democratic Party	3,443	0.42	0	–
	Build One South Africa	3,211	0.39	0	New
	Rise Mzansi	2,406	0.29	0	New
	#Hope4SA	2,231	0.27	0	–
	Congress of the People	1,997	0.24	0	–
	Pan Africanist Congress of Azania	1,814	0.22	0	–
	Inkatha Freedom Party	1,686	0.20	0	–
	United Africans Movement	1,342	0.16	0	–
	Azanian People's Organisation	1,333	0.16	0	–
	United Democratic Movement	1,170	0.14	0	–
	United Independent Movement	915	0.11	0	New
	Alliance of Citizens for Change	904	0.11	0	New
	African People's Convention	704	0.09	0	–
	South African Royal Kingdoms Organization	556	0.07	0	New
	Good	528	0.06	0	–
	Abantu Batho Congress	419	0.05	0	New
	Louis Petrus Liebenberg	307	0.04	0	New
	Economic Liberators Forum	305	0.04	0	New
	Citizans	268	0.03	0	New
	Organic Humanity Movement	238	0.03	0	–
	National Freedom Party	201	0.02	0	–
	South African Rainbow Alliance	195	0.02	0	New
	Africa Restoration Alliance	185	0.02	0	New
	African Movement Congress	180	0.02	–	New
	Free Democrats	154	0.02	–	–
	Sizwe Ummah Nation	104	0.01	–	New
Total		825,292	100.00	11	–
Valid votes		825,292	98.78
Invalid/blank votes		10,205	1.22
Total votes		835,497	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		1,456,927	57.35
Source: Electoral Commission of South Africa

Gauteng

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	African National Congress	1,359,785	34.56	17	–9
	Democratic Alliance	1,071,239	27.23	13	+1
	Economic Freedom Fighters	508,480	12.92	6	–1
	uMkhonto weSizwe	384,501	9.77	5	New
	ActionSA	159,668	4.06	2	New
	Freedom Front Plus	97,284	2.47	1	–1
	Patriotic Alliance	83,809	2.13	1	+1
	Rise Mzansi	40,338	1.03	1	New
	Inkatha Freedom Party	36,143	0.92	1	–
	Build One South Africa	34,843	0.89	1	New
	African Christian Democratic Party	29,410	0.75	0	–
	Al Jama-ah	17,046	0.43	0	–
	Pan Africanist Congress of Azania	13,025	0.33	0	–
	African Transformation Movement	11,697	0.30	0	–
	#Hope4SA	8,956	0.23	0	–
	United Africans Transformation	8,936	0.23	0	–
	United Democratic Movement	7,831	0.20	0	–
	United Independent Movement	6,228	0.16	0	New
	Good	5,773	0.15	0	–
	Azanian People's Organisation	4,647	0.12	0	–
	Allied Movement For Change	4,524	0.11	0	New
	African Independent Congress	3,844	0.10	0	New
	Anele Mda	3,726	0.09	0	New
	Congress of the People	3,602	0.09	0	–
	African Heart Congress	3,592	0.09	0	New
	South African Rainbow Alliance	2,791	0.07	0	New
	African People's Convention	2,580	0.07	0	–
	South African Royal Kingdom Organization	2,149	0.05	0	New
	Economic Liberators Forum	2,026	0.05	0	New
	Organic Humanity Movement	1,776	0.05	0	–
	Alliance of Citizens for Change	1,513	0.04	0	New
	National Freedom Party	1,409	0.04	0	–
	Africa Restoration Alliance	1,335	0.03	0	New
	Xiluva	1,180	0.03	0	New
	Conservatives in Action	1,123	0.03	0	New
	Louis Petrus Liebenberg	1,115	0.03	0	New
	Lehlohonolo Blessings Answer Ramoba	1,107	0.03	0	New
	Sizwe Ummah Nation	1,072	0.03	0	New
	Africa Africans Reclaim	1,041	0.03	0	New
	All Citizens Party	961	0.02	0	New
	Citizans	808	0.02	0	New
	Able Leadership	728	0.02	0	New
	People's Movement for Change	602	0.02	0	New
	Free Democrats	489	0.01	0	–
Total		3,934,732	100.00	48	–
Valid votes		3,934,732	99.20
Invalid/blank votes		31,884	0.80
Total votes		3,966,616	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		6,518,611	60.85
Source: Electoral Commission of South Africa

Kwazulu-Natal

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	uMkhonto weSizwe	1,574,202	44.91	19	New
	Inkatha Freedom Party	640,683	18.28	8	+2
	African National Congress	603,459	17.22	7	–17
	Democratic Alliance	471,830	13.46	6	–
	Economic Freedom Fighters	83,465	2.38	1	–3
	National Freedom Party	20,716	0.59	0	–1
	African Christian Democratic Party	11,593	0.33	0	–
	ActionSA	10,455	0.30	0	New
	Allied Movement for Change	8,676	0.25	0	New
	Patriotic Alliance	7,587	0.22	0	–
	Al Jama-ah	7,127	0.20	0	New
	Democratic Liberal Congress	7,022	0.20	0	New
	African Transformation Movement	6,577	0.19	0	–
	Freedom Front Plus	5,620	0.16	0	–
	Build One South Africa	4,856	0.14	0	New
	African People’s Movement	4,201	0.12	0	New
	Rise Mzansi	4,152	0.12	–	New
	Pan Africanist Congress of Azania	3,338	0.10	0	–
	Abantu Batho Congress	3,133	0.09	0	New
	GOOD	2,868	0.08	0	–
	Azanian People’s Organisation	2,804	0.08	0	–
	United Democratic Movement	2,796	0.08	0	–
	Congress of the People	2,398	0.07	0	New
	South African Royal Kingdoms Organization	2,145	0.06	0	New
	United Independent Movement	2,114	0.06	0	New
	Alliance of Citizens for Change	1,828	0.05	0	–
	Sizwe Ummah Nation	1,472	0.04	0	New
	African People's Convention	1,420	0.04	0	–
	Citizans	1,161	0.03	0	New
	African Movement Congress	1,149	0.03	0	New
	Organic Humanity Movement	1,078	0.03	0	New
	Africa Restoration Alliance	840	0.02	0	New
	Economic Liberators Forum	721	0.02	0	New
	Africa Africans Reclaim	643	0.02	0	New
	People's Movement for Change	593	0.02	0	New
	Free Democrats	407	0.01	0	New
Total		3,505,129	100.00	41	–
Registered voters/turnout		5,738,249	–
Source: Electoral Commission of South Africa

Limpopo

Party		Votes	%	+/–
	African National Congress	1,068,518	74.01	–
	Economic Freedom Fighters	197,903	13.71	–
	Democratic Alliance	84,165	5.83	–
	Freedom Front Plus	16,144	1.12	–
	uMkhonto weSizwe	12,302	0.85	New
	United Africans Transformation	11,764	0.81	New
	ActionSA	9,441	0.65	New
	African Christian Democratic Party	4,802	0.33	–
	Action Alliance Development Party	4,600	0.32	New
	Build One South Africa	4,504	0.31	New
	Pan Africanist Congress of Azania	3,074	0.21	–
	Azanian People’s Organisation	2,933	0.20	–
	African People's Convention	2,786	0.19	New
	Patriotic Alliance	2,534	0.18	–
	Rise Mzansi	2,121	0.15	New
	Congress of the People	2,042	0.14	–
	Able Leadership	1,951	0.14	New
	Economic Liberators Forum	1,799	0.12	New
	Lehlohonolo Ramoba	1,574	0.11	New
	Forum 4 Service Delivery	1,429	0.10	New
	African Transformation Movement	1,206	0.08	–
	United Democratic Movement	951	0.07	–
	Alliance of Citizens for Change	919	0.06	New
	Inkatha Freedom Party	902	0.06	–
	All Citizens Party	0	0.00	–
	South African Rainbow Alliance	670	0.05	New
	United Independent Movement	0	0.00	New
	Lovemore Nḓou	522	0.04	New
	Citizans	364	0.03	New
	Good	301	0.02	–
	Ntakadzeni Faith Phathela	273	0.02	New
	Africa Restoration Alliance	255	0.02	New
	Al Jama-ah	243	0.02	–
	Organic Humanity Movement	237	0.02	New
	Africa Africans Reclaim	201	0.01	New
	Sizwe Ummah Nation	138	0.01	New
	Free Democrats	128	0.01	–
	People's Movement for Change	124	0.01	New
Total		1,443,820	100.00	–
Valid votes		1,443,820	99.04
Invalid/blank votes		13,957	0.96
Total votes		1,457,777	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		2,779,657	52.44
Source: Electoral Commission of South Africa

Mpumalanga

Party		Votes	%	+/–
	African National Congress	585,811	51.34	–
	uMkhonto weSizwe	191,869	16.81	New
	Economic Freedom Fighters	160,425	14.06	–
	Democratic Alliance	136,575	11.97	–
	Freedom Front Plus	18,136	1.59	-
	ActionSA	5,990	0.52	New
	African Christian Democratic Party	5,587	0.49	–
	United Africans Transformation	5,301	0.46	New
	Inkatha Freedom Party	5,014	0.44	–
	African Transformation Movement	4,912	0.43	–
	African People's Convention	3,551	0.31	–
	Patriotic Alliance	3,153	0.28	–
	Build One South Africa	2,762	0.24	New
	Rise Mzansi	1,993	0.17	New
	Azanian People's Organisation	1,548	0.14	–
	Pan Africanist Congress of Azania	1,403	0.12	–
	United Independent Movement	1,351	0.12	New
	Alliance of Citizens for Change	0	0.00	New
	Congress of the People	922	0.08	–
	United Democratic Movement	0	0.00	–
	Forum 4 Service Delivery	673	0.06	New
	Economic Liberators Forum	565	0.05	–
	South African Rainbow Alliance	551	0.05	New
	Good	426	0.04	–
	National Freedom Party	419	0.04	–
	Citizans	393	0.03	–
	People's Movement for Change	310	0.03	–
	Organic Humanity Movement	296	0.03	–
	Africa Restoration Alliance	263	0.02	New
	Sizwe Ummah Nation	252	0.02	New
	Able Leadership	242	0.02	New
	Africa Africans Reclaim	230	0.02	New
	Free Democrats	169	0.01	–
Total		1,141,092	100.00	–
Valid votes		1,141,092	98.88
Invalid/blank votes		12,934	1.12
Total votes		1,154,026	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		2,022,282	57.07
Source: Electoral Commission of South Africa

Northern Cape

Party		Votes	%	+/–
	African National Congress	195,531	49.47	–
	Democratic Alliance	82,767	20.94	–
	Economic Freedom Fighters	52,314	13.23	–
	Patriotic Alliance	33,994	8.60	–
	Freedom Front Plus	7,650	1.94	-
	Northern Cape Communities Movement	7,016	1.77	New
	uMkhonto weSizwe	3,005	0.76	New
	ActionSA	2,027	0.51	New
	GOOD	1,870	0.47	–
	#Hope4SA	1,672	0.42	New
	African Christian Democratic Party	1,434	0.36	New
	Build One South Africa	906	0.23	New
	Congress of the People	785	0.20	–
	Pan Africanist Congress of Azania	614	0.16	–
	Azanian People's Organisation	602	0.15	–
	Rise Mzansi	598	0.15	New
	African Transformation Movement	412	0.10	–
	Africa Restoration Alliance	397	0.10	New
	Inkatha Freedom Party	268	0.07	–
	United Independent Movement	260	0.07	New
	Alliance of Citizens for Change	222	0.06	New
	People's Movement for Change	167	0.04	New
	United Democratic Movement	153	0.04	–
	South African Royal Kingdoms Organization	136	0.03	New
	South African Rainbow Alliance	123	0.03	New
	Organic Humanity Movement	89	0.02	New
	Citizans	85	0.02	New
	Economic Liberators Forum	68	0.02	New
	Sizwe Ummah Nation	67	0.02	New
	Free Democrats	43	0.01	–
Total		395,275	100.00	–
Valid votes		395,275	98.89
Invalid/blank votes		4,424	1.11
Total votes		399,699	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		656,826	60.85
Source: Electoral Commission of South Africa

North West

Party		Votes	%
	African National Congress	515,831	58.31
	Economic Freedom Fighters	153,497	17.35
	Democratic Alliance	114,608	12.95
	Freedom Front Plus	24,167	2.73
	uMkhonto weSizwe	18,165	2.05
	ActionSA	13,847	1.57
	Patriotic Alliance	8,059	0.91
	Forum 4 Service Delivery	5,344	0.60
	United Africans Transformation	4,642	0.52
	Build One South Africa	3,829	0.43
	African Christian Democratic Party	3,766	0.43
	Rise Mzansi	3,170	0.36
	United Democratic Movement	2,119	0.24
	African Transformation Movement	1,364	0.15
	Pan Africanist Congress of Azania	1,324	0.15
	Azanian People’s Organisation	1,309	0.15
	Congress of the People	1,267	0.14
	Inkatha Freedom Party	1,204	0.14
	Economic Liberators Forum	1,090	0.12
	United Independent Movement	776	0.09
	Al Jama-ah	745	0.08
	African People's Convention	691	0.08
	Alliance of Citizens for Change	652	0.07
	Africa Restoration Alliance	472	0.05
	Good	466	0.05
	Sizwe Ummah Nation	395	0.04
	South African Royal Kingdoms Organization	365	0.04
	South African Rainbow Alliance	323	0.04
	Citizans	248	0.03
	Organic Humanity Movement	231	0.03
	Africa Africans Reclaim	226	0.03
	African Movement Congress	221	0.02
	Free Democrats	154	0.02
	People's Movement for Change	129	0.01
Total		884,696	100.00
Valid votes		884,696	98.68
Invalid/blank votes		11,811	1.32
Total votes		896,507	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		1,768,576	50.69
Source: Electoral Commission of South Africa

Western Cape

Party		Votes	%
	Democratic Alliance	1,048,381	53.42
	African National Congress	388,390	19.79
	Patriotic Alliance	153,936	7.84
	Economic Freedom Fighters	105,832	5.39
	National Coloured Congress	47,188	2.40
	Freedom Front Plus	32,440	1.65
	Al Jama-ah	26,787	1.36
	African Christian Democratic Party	25,588	1.30
	Good	22,453	1.14
	uMkhonto weSizwe	11,747	0.60
	Zackie Achmat	10,576	0.54
	Rise Mzansi	10,266	0.52
	Build One South Africa	9,734	0.50
	Africa Restoration Alliance	8,596	0.44
	Pan Africanist Congress of Azania	6,751	0.34
	United Democratic Movement	6,540	0.33
	ActionSA	6,012	0.31
	African Transformation Movement	5,934	0.30
	Allied Movement for Change	5,214	0.27
	United Independent Movement	4,940	0.25
	People's Movement for Change	4,915	0.25
	Referendum Party	4,206	0.21
	#Hope4SA	4,108	0.21
	Alliance of Citizens for Change	2,235	0.11
	Organic Humanity Movement	1,960	0.10
	Congress of the People	1,594	0.08
	Inkatha Freedom Party	1,562	0.08
	African People's Convention	1,058	0.05
	Sizwe Ummah Nation	1,031	0.05
	Azanian People's Organisation	780	0.04
	South African Rainbow Alliance	544	0.03
	Free Democrats	440	0.02
	African Congress for Transformation	348	0.02
	Citizans	313	0.02
	Economic Liberators Forum	288	0.01
Total		1,962,687	100.00
Valid votes		1,962,687	99.29
Invalid/blank votes		14,037	0.71
Total votes		1,976,724	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		3,311,592	59.69
Source: Electoral Commission of South Africa

Provincial legislatures

Free State

Party		Votes	%
	African National Congress	430,565	51.94
	Democratic Alliance	181,148	21.85
	Economic Freedom Fighters	111,730	13.48
	Freedom Front Plus	24,930	3.01
	uMkhonto weSizwe	15,979	1.93
	African Congress for Transformation	15,129	1.83
	Patriotic Alliance	11,725	1.41
	African Transformation Movement	5,870	0.71
	ActionSA	4,510	0.54
	African Content Movement	4,414	0.53
	African Christian Democratic Party	3,976	0.48
	Build One South Africa	2,925	0.35
	Rise Mzansi	2,346	0.28
	Pan Africanist Congress of Azania	2,021	0.24
	Congress of the People	1,864	0.22
	Inkatha Freedom Party	1,536	0.19
	Arise South Africa	1,450	0.17
	United Africans Transformation	1,407	0.17
	Forum 4 Service Delivery	1,194	0.14
	United Democratic Movement	991	0.12
	African People's Convention	672	0.08
	Sesing Johannes Ramotswabodi	577	0.07
	Abantu Batho Congress	576	0.07
	Good	485	0.06
	All Citizens Party	469	0.06
	National Freedom Party	248	0.03
	African Movement Congress	180	0.02
Total		828,917	100.00
Valid votes		828,917	99.01
Invalid/blank votes		8,271	0.99
Total votes		837,188	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		1,456,927	57.46
Source: Electoral Commission of South Africa

Northern Cape

Party		Votes	%
	African National Congress	195,267	49.34
	Democratic Alliance	83,848	21.19
	Economic Freedom Fighters	52,433	13.25
	Patriotic Alliance	34,180	8.64
	Freedom Front Plus	7,239	1.83
	Northern Cape Communities Movement	6,547	1.65
	uMkhonto weSizwe	3,111	0.79
	ActionSA	2,015	0.51
	Good	1,849	0.47
	#Hope4SA	1,745	0.44
	African Christian Democratic Party	1,498	0.38
	Congress of the People	1,007	0.25
	Build One South Africa	995	0.25
	Pan Africanist Congress of Azania	701	0.18
	Rise Mzansi	627	0.16
	Africa Restoration Alliance	458	0.12
	African Congress for Transformation	453	0.11
	Arise South Africa	418	0.11
	African Transformation Movement	412	0.10
	Inkatha Freedom Party	303	0.08
	People's Movement for Change	188	0.05
	South African Royal Kingdoms Association	177	0.04
	All Citizens Party	173	0.04
	South African Youth Power Party	138	0.03
Total		395,782	100.00
Source: Electoral Commission of South Africa

Aftermath

Summary of results

The election resulted in a historic defeat for the ANC, which having received only 40% of the vote, lost the parliamentary majority that it held since 1994. It also failed to secure a majority in Northern Cape and Gauteng, and was outpolled in KwaZulu-Natal by the MK and in overseas voting by the DA, which won 39,000 out of 75,000 votes cast and retained its majority in the Western Cape. The ANC retained reduced majorities in Eastern Cape, Free State, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West and retained largest opposition status in Western Cape, while the DA retained its largest opposition status in the National Assembly. No overall majority was achieved in the National Assembly, nor in the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng or Northern Cape, with the MK achieving a plurality in KwaZulu-Natal and the ANC being forced into second-largest party status in KwaZulu-Natal for the first time since 1999. Most of the ANC's loss of support flowed into the MK, while the DA saw some gains, and the EFF lost some support.

Government formation

While counting was ongoing, the ANC said that its leadership would meet on 31 May to "reflect on what is good for the country." The DA's John Steenhuisen said that the results showed that South Africa was "heading into coalition country" and expressed a willingness to work alongside the ANC, adding that he would have to first consult with other signatories of the Multi-Party Charter. The DA also said that a government composed of the ANC, the MK, and the EFF would be a "doomsday coalition" pursuing previous policy failures in the country. The EFF's Julius Malema said that the election results marked the end of the ANC's "entitlement of being the sole dominant party", adding that he was open to talks with the ANC on forming a coalition government. The Patriotic Alliance's Gayton McKenzie compared prospects of an ANC-DA coalition to "a marriage of two drunk people in Las Vegas" that would prove "unworkable".

Gwede Mantashe, the ANC's national chair, said that the party had started to conduct informal talks with other parties for a possible coalition. On 2 June, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula announced the official opening of negotiations, adding that the party had heard the popular will and was "humbled" by the election result. Mbalula also said that the ANC would reject conditions by other parties for Cyril Ramaphosa to step down as President. In his first statement following the election later that day, Ramaphosa called on political parties to overcome their differences and find "common ground" in creating a coalition government.

Separate coalition talks were expected to occur regarding the provincial governments of KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and Northern Cape.

Allegations of misconduct

On 1 June, Jacob Zuma said that the MK was seeking to have the announcement of official results legally halted pending investigations over allegations of vote-rigging raised by the party, with MK officials citing possible tampering of the Independent Electoral Commission's computer system following glitches earlier that day. The IEC said it had received 579 objections from both voters and political parties regarding the election results, and ordered recounts in 24 cases. Police Minister Bheki Cele warned that authorities would not tolerate "threats of instability in order to register objections or concerns about the electoral processes".

See also

• Electoral Commission of South Africa
• List of political parties in South Africa
• Multi-Party Charter
• Cape independence