| Parliament name |
Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name |
National Assembly |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
National Council of Provinces
|
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
14 April 2004 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the seats of the National Assembly on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. |
Some 35 political parties contested the national and provincial elections that were held on 14 April 2004. These were the country's third democratic general elections.
In his electoral campaign, outgoing President Thabo Mbeki promised to combat unemployment, HIV/Aids and poverty. His African National Congress (ANC) campaigned on its achievements during its years in power since it ended white rule in 1994: the building of 1.6 million houses, bringing clean water to 9 million more people and delivering electricity to 70 per cent of South African homes. On the other hand, his opponents, led by the Democratic Alliance, accused the President of mishandling the country's AIDS crisis, neglecting to crack down on corruption and crime, and failing to create jobs. An estimated 5.3 million South Africans are infected with HIV more than in any other country. Unemployment of more than 30 per cent has hit poorly educated blacks especially hard, while the gap between the rich and poor is increasing.
More than 76 per cent of the 20.6 million registered voters cast ballots, a drop from the 89 per cent turnout in 1999.
The Independent Electoral Commission said voting had passed off smoothly with only minor incidents.
The elections were monitored by more than 3000 local election observers and some 200 international observer missions including the African Union, the Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum, the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa. Regional observers declared the elections free and fair.
Officials results confirmed that the outgoing African National Congress secured nearly 70 per cent of the votes, its largest majority since coming to power. It picked up 279 of the National Assembly's 400 seats, compared to 50 seats for its nearest rival, the Democratic Alliance, a mainly white party, which won just over 12 per cent of the vote. The Zulu-based Inkatha Freedom Party came third in the polls, with nearly 7 per cent of the ballot and 28 seats. The ruling party during the apartheid era, the New National Party, saw its support drop dramatically, gaining only 1.7 per cent of the vote and seven seats. The ANC also led votes for nine provincial assemblies, whose members select the 90 delegates to the National Council of Provinces.
On 23 April 2004, the new National Assembly convened in its first sitting. Mr. Mbeki was elected unopposed for a second term. The Speaker of the National Assembly was also elected unopposed. Ms. Baleka Kgosietsile-Mbete, the former Deputy Speaker, took over from Frene Ginwala, who stepped down after 10 years at the helm.
Mr. Mbeki was sworn in on 27 April 2004, the day South Africa celebrated a decade of multiracial democracy.
On 4 May 2004, Ms. Joyce Kgoali was unanimously elected to chair the National Council of Provinces. She passed away on 21 November 2004 and Mr. Mninawa Johannes Mahlangu succeeded her on 17 January 2005.
|
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 14 April 2004 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
20'674'926
15'863'554 (76.73%)
250'887
15'612'667 |
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| African National Congress (ANC) |
|
10'878'251 |
|
|
69.68 |
|
|
| Democratic Alliance (DA) |
|
1'931'201 |
|
|
12.37 |
|
|
| Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) |
|
1'088'664 |
|
|
6.97 |
|
|
| United Democratic Movement (UDM) |
|
355'717 |
|
|
2.28 |
|
|
| New National Party (NNP) |
|
257'824 |
|
|
1.65 |
|
|
| Independent Democrats (ID) |
|
269'765 |
|
|
1.73 |
|
|
| African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) |
|
250'272 |
|
|
1.60 |
|
|
| Freedom Front Plus (FF+) |
|
139'465 |
|
|
0.89 |
|
|
| United Christian Democratic Party (UCDP) |
|
117'792 |
|
|
0.75 |
|
|
| Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) |
|
113'512 |
|
|
0.73 |
|
|
| Azanian People's Organisation (AZAPO) |
|
41'776 |
|
|
0.27 |
|
|
| Minority Front (MF) |
|
55'267 |
|
|
0.35 |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
|
|
|
|
| African National Congress (ANC) |
279
|
|
|
|
|
| Democratic Alliance (DA) |
50
|
|
|
|
|
| Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) |
28
|
|
|
|
|
| United Democratic Movement (UDM) |
9
|
|
|
|
|
| New National Party (NNP) |
7
|
|
|
|
|
| Independent Democrats (ID) |
7
|
|
|
|
|
| African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) |
6
|
|
|
|
|
| Freedom Front Plus (FF+) |
4
|
|
|
|
|
| United Christian Democratic Party (UCDP) |
3
|
|
|
|
|
| Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) |
3
|
|
|
|
|
| Azanian People's Organisation (AZAPO) |
2
|
|
|
|
|
| Minority Front (MF) |
2
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
269
131
32.75%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Sources:
- Independent Electoral Commission
- National Assembly (01.01.2008) |
A historical Archive of past election results for this chamber can be found on a separate page