General elections will be held in South Africa on 29 May 2024 to elect a new National Assembly as well as the provincial legislature in each province. This will be the seventh general election held under the conditions of universal adult suffrage since the end of the apartheid era in 1994 (apartheid actually ended officially in 1990, allowing for the first democratic election, which included all South Africans from all races, to take place in 1994). The new National Council of Provinces will be elected at the first sitting of each provincial legislature. Since the inaugural post-apartheid election in 1994, the African National Congress (ANC) has consistently secured a majority of seats in the National Assembly.

The date of the elections are set by the incumbent President, Cyril Ramaphosa, and must be within 90 days of the end of the term of the current Parliament, which is in mid May 2024. The date of the election was announced on 20 February 2024.

In the 2021 South African municipal elections, the African National Congress received less than 50% of the vote for the first time nationwide in any election since the end of apartheid. The party also lost 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 hold 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”.

Support for the ANC has declined in opinion polls leading to expectations of a hung parliament.

Sources and further reading:

Jacob Zuma’s MK – the political wildcard in South Africa’s election

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-68536285

South Africa to hold general election on May 29

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/20/south-africa-to-hold-general-election-on-may-29