Elections in South Africa - wikipedia Elections in South Africa South Africa This article is part of a series on the politics and government of South Africa Constitution Bill of Rights Executive President Jacob Zuma Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa Cabinet Shadow Cabinet Legislative National Council of Provinces Chairperson Thandi Modise National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete Leader of the Opposition Mmusi Maimane Judiciary Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng Deputy Chief Justice Bess Nkabinde ( Acting ) Courts Constitutional Court Supreme Court of Appeal President : Mandisa Maya High Court Magistrate 's courts Electoral Court Elections General 1910 1915 1920 1921 1924 1929 1933 1938 1943 1948 1953 1958 1961 1966 1970 1974 1977 1981 1984 1987 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 2019 Municipal 2000 2006 2011 2016 Referendums 1960 1983 1992 Political parties Administrative divisions Provinces Districts Metropolitan municipality District municipality Municipalities ( list ) Foreign relations Minister of Foreign Affairs Diplomatic missions Passport Related topics Human rights Taxation Protests Repression Political assassinations Other countries Atlas Elections in South Africa are held for the National Assembly, provincial legislatures and municipal councils. Elections follow a five - year cycle, with national and provincial elections held simultaneously and municipal elections held two years later. The electoral system is based on party - list proportional representation, which means that parties are represented in proportion to their electoral support. For municipal councils there is a mixed - member system in which wards elect individual councillors alongside those named from party lists. In elections of the National Assembly, every South African citizen who is 18 or older may vote, including ( from the 2014 election ) those resident outside South Africa. In elections of a provincial legislature or municipal council, only those resident within the province or municipality may vote. All elections are conducted by the Electoral Commission of South Africa, which is an independent body established by the Constitution. Contents 1 History 1.1 At the Union 1.2 Enfranchisement of white women and poor whites 1.3 Segregation of black voters 1.4 Segregation of coloured voters 1.5 Republic referendum 1.6 Tricameral Parliament 1.7 End of Apartheid 2 List of elections 3 Last election results 3.1 2014 general election 4 See also 5 References 6 External links History A coloured gathering in South Africa, with huge banners, demanding votes for all. 1954 At the Union The Union of South Africa was created on 31 May 1910 by the South Africa Act 1909, an act of the Imperial Parliament. The House of Assembly ( the lower house of the newly created Parliament of South Africa ) and the provincial councils were elected by first - past - the - post voting in single - member electoral divisions. The franchise in these elections was initially the same as the franchise for the lower houses in the four colonies that had formed the Union, so there were different qualifications in different provinces. In the Transvaal and the Orange Free State the vote was limited by law to white men over the age of 21. In Natal the vote was limited to men over 21 who met property and literacy qualifications ; in theory this could include non-white men but in practice only very small numbers managed to qualify : in 1910 over 99 % of the electorate was white. In the Cape Province the franchise was also limited to men over 21 who met property and literacy qualifications, and non-white men did qualify in significant numbers, making up approximately 15 % of the electorate in 1910. The qualifications in the Cape and Natal also excluded a substantial number of poorer white men. Only white men could stand for election to the House of Assembly, even from the Cape constituencies. The franchise rights of non-white voters in the Cape ( but not in Natal ) were entrenched in the South Africa Act by a provision that they could only be reduced by an act of Parliament passed by a two - thirds majority of both houses of Parliament sitting in a joint session. Enfranchisement of white women and poor whites In 1930 the National Party government of J.B.M. Hertzog passed the Women 's Enfranchisement Act, which extended the right to vote and the right to stand for election to all white women over the age of 21. In the following year the Franchise Laws Amendment Act lifted the property and literacy requirements for white male voters in the Cape and Natal, with the result that all white citizens over 21 were enfranchised. As the exclusion of women and the literacy and property qualifications continued to apply to non-white voters, these acts had the effect of diluting their electoral power by more than doubling the number of white voters. At the next following general election in 1933, Leila Reitz was elected as the first female MP, representing Parktown for the South African Party. Segregation of black voters In 1936 the Hertzog government enacted the Representation of Natives Act, which removed black voters from the common voters ' rolls and placed them on separate `` native voters ' rolls ''. The act was passed by the required two - thirds majority in a joint session. Black voters could no longer vote in ordinary elections for the House of Assembly or the Cape Provincial Council ; instead they would separately elect three members of the assembly and two members of the council. Four senators would also be indirectly elected by chiefs, tribal councils and local councils for `` native areas ''. The Representation of Natives Act was repealed in 1959 and consequently the seats of the `` native representative members '' were abolished in 1960. From this point the only political representation of black South Africans was in the Bantustan legislatures. Segregation of coloured voters Main article : Coloured vote constitutional crisis After coming to power in 1948 the National Party engaged in a policy of removing coloured voters in a similar manner to black voters. In 1951 Parliament passed the Separate Representation of Voters Act, which removed coloured voters from the common voters roll and instead allowed them to separately elect four MPs. The act was challenged on the basis that it had not been passed with a two - thirds majority in a joint sitting, as required by the South Africa Act, and in 1952 the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court declared it to be invalid. A subsequent attempt by the government to circumvent the Supreme Court by creating a High Court of Parliament failed. In the election of 1953, coloured voters in the Cape cast their ballots in the same constituencies as white voters. In 1955 the government introduced a new act which reconstituted the Senate, providing the two - thirds majority necessary to validate the Separate Representation of Voters Act. This separate representation of coloured voters in the House of Assembly was ended in 1970. Instead, all coloured adults were given the right to vote for the Coloured Persons ' Representative Council, which had limited legislative powers and was permanently dissolved in 1980. Republic referendum In 1960 a whites - only referendum was held to decide whether South Africa should become a republic. No changes were made to the franchise with the Republic 's emergence in 1961. However, with the policy of establishing Bantustans the remaining black representation in the Senate was completely removed. Tricameral Parliament In 1983 a referendum on constitutional reform was held, as a result of which the Tricameral Parliament was formed, consisting of three separate houses to represent white, coloured and Indian South Africans. The existing House of Assembly was retained with its white electorate, while two new houses were created : the House of Representatives elected by coloured voters, and the House of Delegates elected by Indian voters. Elections to these houses were conducted on the basis of first - past - the - post voting in single - member electoral divisions. End of apartheid During the negotiations to end apartheid the Interim Constitution was enacted. It introduced universal suffrage on a non-racial basis, and replaced first - past - the - post voting with party - list proportional representation. South Africans of all races took part in the first fully democratic elections in 1994. `` Universal adult suffrage, a national common voters roll, regular elections and a multi-party system of democratic government '' are founding principles of the 1996 Constitution of South Africa, and the right of all citizens to vote is included in the Bill of Rights. In the post-apartheid era the Constitutional Court has struck down two attempts by the government to deny the vote to convicted criminals in prison. The court has also ruled that South Africans living outside the country must be allowed to vote. List of elections Main article : List of elections in South Africa Since 1910, parliamentary general elections have been held on the following dates. 15 September 1910 20 October 1915 10 March 1920 8 February 1921 19 June 1924 12 June 1929 17 May 1933 18 May 1938 7 July 1943 26 May 1948 15 April 1953 16 April 1958 18 October 1961 30 March 1966 22 April 1970 24 April 1974 30 November 1977 29 April 1981 22 and 28 August 1984 ( House of Representatives and House of Delegates ) 6 May 1987 ( House of Assembly ) 6 September 1989 ( all three houses ) 26 -- 29 April 1994 2 June 1999 14 April 2004 22 April 2009 7 May 2014 Last election results 2014 general election Main article : South African general election, 2014 e d Party Votes % + / − Seats + / − list African National Congress 11,436,921 62.15 3.75 249 15 list Democratic Alliance 4,091,584 22.23 4.62 89 18 list Economic Freedom Fighters 1,169,259 6.35 New 25 New list Inkatha Freedom Party 441,854 2.40 2.15 10 8 list National Freedom Party 288,742 1.57 New 6 New list United Democratic Movement 184,636 1.00 0.16 0 list Freedom Front Plus 165,715 0.90 0.07 0 list Congress of the People 123,235 0.67 6.75 27 list African Christian Democratic Party 104,039 0.57 0.24 0 list African Independent Congress 97,642 0.53 New New list Agang SA 52,350 0.28 New New list Pan Africanist Congress 37,784 0.21 0.07 0 list African People 's Convention 30,676 0.17 0.04 0 list Al Jama - ah 25,976 0.14 0.01 0 0 list Minority Front 22,589 0.12 0.12 0 list United Christian Democratic Party 21,744 0.12 0.26 0 list Azanian People 's Organisation 20,421 0.11 0.11 0 list Bushbuckridge Residents Association 15,271 0.08 New 0 New list Independent Civic Organisation 14,472 0.08 New 0 New list Patriotic Alliance 13,263 0.07 New 0 New list Workers and Socialist Party 8,331 0.05 New 0 New list Ubuntu Party 8,234 0.04 New 0 New list Kingdom Governance Movement 6,408 0.03 New 0 New list Front National 5,138 0.03 New 0 New list Keep It Straight and Simple 4,294 0.02 0.01 0 0 list Pan Africanist Movement 3,815 0.02 0.01 0 0 list First Nation Liberation Alliance 3,297 0.02 New 0 New list United Congress 3,136 0.02 New 0 New list National Party South Africa 2,694 0.13 0.4 0 0 list Peoples Alliance 1,671 0.01 New 0 New Total 18,402,497 100.00 400 Valid votes 18,402,497 98.65 Spoilt votes 251,960 1.35 Total votes cast 18,654,457 100.00 Registered voters / turnout 25,381,293 73.50 Source : IEC ^ Jump up to : Compared to the combined performance of the Democratic Alliance, the Independent Democrats and the South African Democratic Convention in 2009. See also Electoral calendar Electoral system References `` Women 's suffrage ''. Archived from the original on 5 March 2006. Retrieved 2006 - 03 - 04. Adam Carr 's Election Archive African Elections Database External links Democratic Development in South Africa from the Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives Elections and referendums in South Africa General elections 1910 1915 1920 1921 1924 1929 1933 1938 1943 1948 1953 1958 1961 1966 1970 1977 1981 1984 1989 1994 1999 2009 2014 2019 Municipal elections 1995 -- 96 2000 2006 2011 2016 Referendums 1960 1992 See also : Elections and referendums in the Boer republics and South African colonies Elections and referendums in South African Bantustans Elections and referendums in the Boer republics and South African colonial territories Cape Colony Parliamentary elections 1854 1870 1883 1898 1903 1904 1908 Griqualand West Parliamentary elections 1873 Natalia Republic and Natal Parliamentary elections 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1857 1880 1883 1892 1893 1897 1901 1902 1906 Referendums 1909 Orange Free State Presidential elections 1854 1855 1860 1863 1868 1873 1878 1883 1888 1893 1896 Parliamentary elections 1854 1907 Transvaal Presidential elections 1872 1883 1888 1893 1898 Parliamentary elections 1855 1856 1893 1907 See also : Elections in South Africa Elections and referendums in South African Bantustans Elections Bophuthatswana 1972 1977 1982 Ciskei 1973 1978 1986 Gazankulu 1973 1978 1989 KwaNdebele Lebowa 1973 1978 QwaQwa 1980 1985 Transkei 1963 1968 1973 1976 1981 1986 Venda 1973 1978 1984 Referendums Ciskei 1980 See also : Elections in South Africa South Africa articles History Timeline ( nl ) Years Early history Cape Colony Orange Free State Transvaal First Boer War Second Boer War Great Depression World War II Apartheid Border War Since 1994 By topic Economy Military Geography Districts Earthquakes Estuaries Forests Islands Lakes Mountain ranges Municipalities National parks Populated places Provinces Rivers Wildlife Politics Constitution Courts Elections Foreign relations Government Human rights Law Parliament Political parties President State security and intelligence Minister Co-ordinating committee ( NICC ) Intelligence agency ( NIA ) Communications centre ( NCC ) Communications security ( COMSEC ) Secret Service ( SASS ) Intelligence academy ( SANAI ) Law enforcement Department of Police Police Service Criminal intelligence ( SAPS ) Special Task Force National Intervention Unit NFDD Municipal Police Independent Complaints Directorate Department of Correctional Services Biometrics use Military Department of Defence Defence Force Air Force Army Navy Military Health Service Special Forces Commando System Intelligence Economy Agriculture Communications Economic history Energy Foreign trade Mining industry Rand ( currency ) Stock exchange Taxation Tourism Trade unions Transportation Water and sanitation Society Crime Education Feminism Health Healthcare Immigration Intersex Languages LGBT Racism Religion Sexual violence Social movements Xenophobia Culture Architecture Art Cinema Cuisine Flag HIV / AIDS Homelessness Literature Media Music Public holidays Sports Demographics Asian Indian Chinese Bantu Ndebele Pedi Sotho Swazi Tsonga Tswana Venda Xhosa Zulu Coloured Cape Coloured Cape Malay Griqua Khoisan White Afrikaner British Outline Index Category Portal Elections in Africa Sovereign states Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde ( Cabo Verde ) Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea - 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Question: who is eligible to vote in south africa
Answer: every South African citizen who is 18 or older