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In the May 2024 general election, ANC only won 40% of the popular vote, showing dissatisfaction with their stewardship of the country. This marks a dramatic turning point, since ANC has held majority support since Mandela was elected in 1994. ANC was forced to form a "government of national unity" coalition, and Cyril Ramaphosa was re-elected for a second term.
Key stats
Key statistics table displaying core political and economic data, including key indicators such as population, GDP, government structure, and democracy metrics.
Democratic History
History timeline table outlining significant political and economic events, highlighting major milestones such as independence, regime changes, economic reforms, coup, and key developments in Mauritius democratic governance.
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This page offers a comprehensive overview of South Africa's government and political history through two key interactive visualizations. The first section provides a detailed table showcasing vital political and economic indicators, such as South Africa's population, GDP, government structure, age and tenure of the current president, military regime status, and democracy metrics.

The second section presents a historical and political chronology of South Africa, highlighting significant milestones such as independence, referendum history, coups, notable wars, and democratic progress. Together, these visualisations provide a rich resource for understanding South Africa's governance, leadership, and democratic evolution, catering to researchers, policymakers, and anyone interested in African political history.

2024 Presidential Candidates
Candidate chart displaying the 2024 South Africa presidential candidates, with key data covering their background, political alignment, and government experience.
2024 Presidential Candidates
2024 Presidential Candidates
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Learn more detailed information about South Africa's presidential candidates, including key data on their backgrounds, political alignments, and government experiences. Discover essential information about each candidate's political journey, their affiliation (independent or party-based), gender, and previous government roles, to deepen your understanding of the country's evolving leadership within African governance and democracy.

Presidential Election Results

South Africans do not directly elect their President. Instead, they vote for their National Assembly members who then vote amongst themselves for President. This section shows the results from the National Assembly members' selection of the President.

Bar chart displaying the 2024 South Africa presidential election results, illustrating how each coalition party performed in terms of percentage of votes received.
Bar chart displaying the 2019 South Africa presidential election results, illustrating how each coalition party performed in terms of percentage of votes received.
Bar chart displaying the 2014 South Africa presidential election results, illustrating how each coalition party performed in terms of percentage of votes received.
Bar chart displaying the 2009 South Africa presidential election results, illustrating how each coalition party performed in terms of percentage of votes received.
General Election Results

In the General Elections, South Africans elect their 400 National Assembly members. Whichever party or party coalition holds the majority of National Assembly seats determines who will win the presidency.

Interactive parliamentary election chart displaying the 2024 South Africa parliamentary election results, illustrating the distribution of seats by political parties.
Interactive parliamentary election chart displaying the 2019 South Africa parliamentary election results, illustrating the distribution of seats by political parties.
Interactive parliamentary election chart displaying the 2014 South Africa parliamentary election results, illustrating the distribution of seats by political parties.
Interactive parliamentary election chart displaying the 2009 South Africa parliamentary election results, illustrating the distribution of seats by political parties.
Interactive parliamentary election chart displaying the 2004 South Africa parliamentary election results, illustrating the distribution of seats by political parties.
Interactive voting metrics chart displaying the South Africa presidential election results, with percentage of registered voters who voted and percentage invalid votes across election years.
Voter Preferences Based on Vote Counts

South Africans do not directly elect their President. Instead, they vote for their National Assembly members who then vote amongst themselves for President. To better understand the preferences of individual voters, the following charts show the breakdown of votes per party among the voting populous from the General Elections.

Bar chart displaying the 2024 South Africa presidential election results, illustrating how each party performed in terms of percentage of votes received.
Interactive map chart displaying the 2024 South Africa presidential election results, illustrating how each party and/or candidate performed by region based on the number of votes received across different areas.
Bar chart displaying the 2019 South Africa presidential election results, illustrating how each party performed in terms of percentage of votes received.
Interactive map chart displaying the 2019 South Africa presidential election results, illustrating how each party and/or candidate performed by region based on the number of votes received across different areas.
Bar chart displaying the 2014 South Africa presidential election results, illustrating how each party performed in terms of percentage of votes received.
Interactive map chart displaying the 2014 South Africa presidential election results, illustrating how each party and/or candidate performed by region based on the number of votes received across different areas.
Bar chart displaying the 2009 South Africa presidential election results, illustrating how each party performed in terms of percentage of votes received.
Interactive map chart displaying the 2009 South Africa presidential election results, illustrating how each party and/or candidate performed by region based on the number of votes received across different areas.
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Explore South Africa’s election data through a collection of interactive visualizations and charts that reveal key political and democratic trends. The dynamic charts show shifts in parliamentary control over the years, highlighting changes in party seat distributions. Presidential voter metrics, including turnout, invalid votes, and participation rates, uncover patterns in electoral engagement. Bar charts illustrate presidential election results by party vote percentages, providing a clear picture of voter and party dynamics.

Also, election integrity data compares observer group estimates with official results, highlighting trends and discrepancies. Interactive maps present regional voting patterns, showing how parties and candidates performed across South Africa.

Together, these visualizations offer a comprehensive view of South Africa’s electoral history, making it an essential resource for political analysts, journalists, students, and democracy advocates.

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