2004 South African general election

none November 2023 November 2023 2004 South African general election South Africa 1994 parliamentary 1999 South African general election 1999 List of National Assembly members of the 23rd Parliament of South Africa 14 April 2004 2009 South African general election 2009 List of National Assembly members of the 24th Parliament of South Africa All 400 seats in the National Assembly 201 20,674,926 76.70% ( 12.60pp) 130x130px Thabo Mbeki - World Economic Forum on Africa 2008 (cropped).jpg 130 120 160 Thabo Mbeki African National Congress 66.35%, 266 seats 279 13 10,880,915 69.69% 3.34pp TonyLeon.jpg 130 120 160 0 5 Tony Leon Democratic Alliance (South Africa) 9.56%, 38 seatsAs Democratic Party. 50 12 1,931,201 12.37% 2.81pp Mangosuthu Buthelezi, May 2019 (cropped).png 120 120 160 Mangosuthu Buthelezi Inkatha Freedom Party 8.58%, 34 seats 28 6 1,088,664 6.97% 1.61pp Bantu Holomisa (cropped).png 120 120 160 Bantu Holomisa United Democratic Movement 3.42%, 14 seats 9 5 355,717 2.28% 1.14pp Patricia de Lille, March 2011.jpg 160 120 160 8 Patricia de Lille Independent Democrats Did not exist 7 New party 269,765 1.73% New party Marthinus van Schalkwyk crop.jpg 120 120 160 Marthinus van Schalkwyk New National Party (South Africa) 6.87%, 28 seats 7 21 257,824 1.65% 5.22pp 2004 South African general election.svg 390px President Thabo Mbeki African National Congress Thabo Mbeki African National Congress General elections were held in South Africa on Wednesday, 14 April 2004.Election Resources on the Internet: Republic of South Africa 2004 General Election http://electionresources.org/za/2004/ Election Resources on the Internet 16 August 2019 The African National Congress (ANC) of President Thabo Mbeki, which came to power after the end of the apartheid system in 1994, was re-elected with an increased majority. These were the third elections held since the end of the apartheid era. The ANC, which had been in power since 1994, obtained 69.7% of votes cast on the national ballot, theoretically allowing them to change the constitution. Some 20.6-million people were registered for the 2004 general elections, which was about 2 million more than in 1999.http://www.southafrica.info/about/democracy/elections-110209.htm Archived copy 20 April 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20180202071608/http://www.southafrica.info/about/democracy/elections-110209.htm 2 February 2018 dead About 76% of registered voters took part in the election, with the ANC receiving 69.7% of the votes cast. However, only 56% of eligible voters (South African citizens of voting age) took part in the 2004 election, which means that the ANC received votes from only about 38% of all eligible voters.http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2004/580/580p18.htm South Africa: A disillusioned democracy 2006-09-21 McKinley Dale T. 29 April 2004 Green Left Weekly https://web.archive.org/web/20060918112849/http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2004/580/580p18.htm 18 September 2006 dead http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/apr2004/safr-a17.shtml ANC wins South African elections in low voter turnout 17 April 2004 wsws.org The year 2004 saw an increase in voter abstention and there was at least one high-profile election and registration boycotts campaign, the No Land! No House! No Vote! Campaign.http://libcom.org/library/the-no-land-no-house-no-vote-campaign-still-2009 The 'No Land, No House, No Vote' campaign still on for 2009 5 May 2005 Abahlali baseMjondolohttp://antieviction.org.za/2005/12/12/indymedia-presents-no-land-no-house-no-vote/ IndyMedia Presents: No Land! No House! No Vote! Anti-Eviction Campaign 12 December 2005 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090425165902/http://antieviction.org.za/2005/12/12/indymedia-presents-no-land-no-house-no-vote/ 25 April 2009 A major electoral issue during the election was the dominance of the ANC; detractors of the ANC, most notably the Democratic Alliance, argued that the party's political dominance posed a threat to the country's democratic institutions and that voters should therefore vote for opposition parties.Southall Roger 2005 The 'dominant party debate' in South Africa https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/bitstream/handle/document/10666/ssoar-afrspectrum-2005-1-southall-the_dominant_party_debate_in.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y&lnkname=ssoar-afrspectrum-2005-1-southall-the_dominant_party_debate_in.pdf Afrika Spectrum 39 61–82 The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, also obtained an increased percentage on the national ballot, most likely from former supporters of the New National Party (NNP), possibly losing some support to Patricia de Lille's new Independent Democrats. The NNP, a descendant of the ruling party of the apartheid era, collapsed and lost most of their support, dropping from 6.9% in 1999 to 1.7% (it was 20.4% in 1994), many of their supporters being unhappy with their alliance with the ANC. The NNP alliance with the ANC allowed the ANC gain control of the Western Cape and City of Cape Town; following the election the NNP elected to dissolve and merge with the ANC.Alence Rod South Africa After Apartheid: The First Decade https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/south-africa-after-apartheid-the-first-decade/ 2022-02-26 Journal of Democracy 82 en-US The Independent Democrats surprised many observers by obtaining more votes than the New National Party, becoming the fifth largest party. The Inkatha Freedom Party lost some support, including the majority in their stronghold province of Kwazulu-Natal, while the United Democratic Movement also lost support, barely hanging on as opposition in their stronghold, the Eastern Cape. As of 2024 this is the last election in which the ANC made gains in both seats and popular vote. Electoral system The South African National Assembly consists of 400 members, elected by closed list proportional representation.How Parliament is Constructed https://www.parliament.gov.za/how-parliament-is-structured Parliament of the Republic of South Africa 16 August 2019 24 March 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190324082954/https://www.parliament.gov.za/how-parliament-is-structured dead 200 members are elected from national party lists, and the other 200 are elected from party lists in each of the nine provinces. The President of South Africa is chosen by the National Assembly after each election. Events A corruption scandal dubbed "Oilgate" by the South African media surfaced when it was reported that R11 million was transferred from the state owned PetroSA to help fund the African National Congress' election campaign.PetroSA still hurting after Oilgate taint https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/petrosa-still-hurting-after-oilgate-taint-251689 2022-02-26 www.iol.co.za enSouth Africa to investigate 'Oilgate' scandal https://gulfnews.com/world/africa/south-africa-to-investigate-oilgate-scandal-1.289856 2022-02-26 gulfnews.com 4 June 2005 en Following the election the Mail and Guardian newspaper was controversially gagged from publishing a report on the Oilgate scandal.2005-05-27 Court gag on South Africa 'oilgate' report http://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/may/28/southafrica.oil 2022-02-26 the Guardian en National Assembly results File:National Assembly (South Africa) seats 2004.svg African National Congress 10880915 279 +13 Democratic Alliance 1931201 50 +12 Inkatha Freedom Party 1088664 28 −6 United Democratic Movement 355717 9 −5 Independent Democrats 269765 7 New New National Party 257824 7 −21 African Christian Democratic Party 250272 7 +1 Freedom Front Plus 139465 4 +1 United Christian Democratic Party 117792 3 0 Pan Africanist Congress 113512 3 0 Minority Front 55267 2 +1 Azanian People's Organisation 39116 1 0 Christian Democratic Party 17619 0 New National Action 15804 0 New Peace and Justice Congress 15187 0 New Socialist Party of Azania 14853 0 0 New Labour Party 13318 0 New United Front 11889 0 New Employment Movement for South Africa 10446 0 New The Organisation Party 7531 0 New Keep It Straight and Simple Party 6514 0 0 0 250887 20674926 Election ResourcesAccording to political scientist Michael Gallagher, this election was the most proportional in modern history, with a Gallagher Index of 0.26. Contested seat When the official results were released, the ACDP successfully challenged the outcome. As a result, one of the two seats AZAPO won initially was handed over to the ACDP.http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=qw1086105781844B216 ACDP awarded an extra seat in parliament IOL 1 June 2004 Provincial legislature results Elections for the nine provincial parliaments were held at the same time as for the National Assembly. PartyECFSGKZNLMNWNCWC African National Congress512551384527272119 Democratic Alliance53157222312 Inkatha Freedom Party230 United Democratic Movement61111 African Christian Democratic Party112112 New National Party25 Independent Democrats123 Freedom Front Plus11111 United Christian Democratic Party3 Pan Africanist Congress11 Minority Front2Total633073804930333042 Eastern Cape African National Congress 1768987 51 +4 United Democratic Movement 205993 6 −3 Democratic Alliance 163785 5 +1 Pan Africanist Congress 22324 1 0 African Christian Democratic Party 17372 0 0 Independent Democrats 17314 0 New New National Party 14084 0 −2 Freedom Front Plus 5692 0 0 Inkatha Freedom Party 4373 0 0 Azanian People's Organisation 3884 0 New Socialist Party of Azania 3356 0 New United Christian Democratic Party 2707 0 New National Action 1672 0 New 0 28360 2849486 Election Resources Free State African National Congress 827338 25 0 Democratic Alliance 85714 3 +1 Freedom Front Plus 24946 1 0 African Christian Democratic Party 13119 1 +1 Pan Africanist Congress 11969 0 0 Dikwankwetla Party 9806 0 New United Democratic Movement 8947 0 0 New National Party 8295 0 −2 United Christian Democratic Party 7825 0 0 Independent Democrats 5289 0 New Azanian People's Organisation 3571 0 New Inkatha Freedom Party 3563 0 0 National Action 1224 0 New 15795 1321195 0 Election Resources Gauteng African National Congress 2331121 51 +1 Democratic Alliance 708081 15 +2 Inkatha Freedom Party 85500 2 −1 African Christian Democratic Party 55991 1 0 Independent Democrats 51921 1 New Freedom Front Plus 45648 1 0 United Democratic Movement 33644 1 0 Pan Africanist Congress 29076 1 +1 New National Party 25992 0 −3 United Christian Democratic Party 8857 0 0 Azanian People's Organisation 8670 0 0 Christian Democratic Party 7773 0 New National Action 4712 0 New Peace and Justice Congress 3208 0 New Socialist Party of Azania 3191 0 0 Economic Freedom Movement 1862 0 New Pro-Death Penalty Party 1825 0 New Black People's Convention 1236 0 New 0 43917 4650594 Election Resources KwaZulu-Natal African National Congress 1287823 38 +6 Inkatha Freedom Party 1009267 30 −4 Democratic Alliance 228857 7 +1 Minority Front 71540 2 0 African Christian Democratic Party 48892 2 +1 United Democratic Movement 20546 1 0 New National Party 14218 0 −3 Independent Democrats 13556 0 New Freedom Front Plus 7764 0 0 Azanian People's Organisation 7061 0 0 Pan Africanist Congress 5118 0 0 Socialist Party of Azania 5023 0 0 Christian Democratic Party 4980 0 New Izwi Lethu Party 4858 0 New United Christian Democratic Party 3921 0 New Peace and Development Party 3154 0 New Royal Loyal Progress 3141 0 New Independent African Movement 1546 0 New 0 41300 3819864 Election Resources Limpopo African National Congress 1439853 45 +1 Democratic Alliance 57930 2 +1 United Democratic Movement 27780 1 0 African Christian Democratic Party 20418 1 0 Pan Africanist Congress of Azania 15222 0 −1 Alliance for Democracy and Prosperity 9933 0 New Freedom Front Plus 9724 0 0 Ximoko Party 9587 0 0 Azanian People's Organisation 8204 0 0 New National Party 7443 0 −1 United Christian Democratic Party 3477 0 New Independent Democrats 2730 0 New National Action 2213 0 New 0 21947 2187912 Election Resources Mpumalanga African National Congress 959436 27 +1 Democratic Alliance 77119 2 +1 Freedom Front Plus 13732 1 0 African Christian Democratic Party 12065 0 0 United Democratic Movement 11161 0 −1 Inkatha Freedom Party 10643 0 0 Pan Africanist Congress 7668 0 0 Sindawonye Progressive Party 5925 0 0 New National Party 5122 0 −1 Independent Democrats 3406 0 New Azanian People's Organisation 2113 0 0 United Christian Democratic Party 1878 0 0 Socialist Party of Azania 1424 0 New 0 17792 1442472 Election Resources North West African National Congress 1048089 27 0 United Christian Democratic Party 110233 3 0 Democratic Alliance 64925 2 +1 Freedom Front Plus 17123 1 0 African Christian Democratic Party 15138 0 0 United Democratic Movement 12513 0 0 Pan Africanist Congress 10923 0 0 Independent Democrats 5709 0 New New National Party 5592 0 −1 Azanian People's Organisation 3718 0 New Inkatha Freedom Party 3211 0 0 National Action 1389 0 New 0 23224 1749529 Election Resources Northern Cape African National Congress 219365 21 +1 Democratic Alliance 35297 3 +2 New National Party 23970 2 −6 Independent Democrats 22485 2 New African Christian Democratic Party 5995 1 +1 Freedom Front Plus 4948 1 0 Azanian People's Organisation 1645 0 0 United Democratic Movement 1431 0 0 Pan Africanist Congress 1381 0 0 United Christian Democratic Party 1042 0 New Inkatha Freedom Party 751 0 0 Cape People's Congress 392 0 New 0 5192 433591 Election Resources Western Cape African National Congress 709052 19 +1 Democratic Alliance 424832 12 +7 New National Party 170469 5 −12 Independent Democrats 122867 3 New African Christian Democratic Party 53934 2 +1 United Democratic Movement 27489 1 0 Africa Muslim Party 11019 0 New New Labour Party 10526 0 New Freedom Front Plus 9705 0 0 Pan Africanist Congress 6524 0 0 United Christian Democratic Party 3575 0 New Green Party of South Africa 3317 0 New Peace and Justice Congress 3278 0 New National Action 2248 0 New Inkatha Freedom Party 2222 0 0 Cape People's Congress 1960 0 New Azanian People's Organisation 1455 0 New Moderate Independent Party 953 0 New Peace and Development Party 789 0 New Universal Party 735 0 New 0 15554 2220283 Election Resources NCOP seats The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) consists of 90 members, ten elected by each provincial legislature. The Members of NCOP have to be elected in proportion to the party membership of the provincial legislature. Determination of delegates to the National Council of Provinces after the 14 April 2004 provincial electionsSouth Africa Survey 2003/04 John Kane-Berman South African Institute of Race Relations 9780869824764 2004 462 etal |-style="background:#e9e9e9;" !colspan="2" style="text-align:left"|Party !style="text-align:left"|Delegate type !EC !FS !G !KZN !L !M !NW !NC !WC !colspan=2|Total |- | style="width: 4px;background-color:African National Congress" rowspan=2| | style="text-align: left;" scope="row" rowspan=2 | African National Congress |style="text-align:left"|Permanent |4 |4 |4 |3 |5 |5 |4 |4 |2 |35 |rowspan=2|65 |- |style="text-align:left"|Special |4 |4 |3 |2 |4 |4 |4 |3 |2 |30 |- | style="width: 4px;background-color:Democratic Alliance (South Africa)" rowspan=2| | style="text-align: left;" scope="row" rowspan=2 | Democratic Alliance (South Africa) |style="text-align:left"|Permanent |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |2 |10 |rowspan=2|12 |- |style="text-align:left"|Special | | |1 | | | | | |1 |2 |- | style="width: 4px;background-color:Inkatha Freedom Party" rowspan=2| | style="text-align: left;" scope="row" rowspan=2 | Inkatha Freedom Party |style="text-align:left"|Permanent | | |1 |2 | | | | | |3 |rowspan=2|5 |- |style="text-align:left"|Special | | | |2 | | | | | |2 |- | style="width: 4px;background-color:Independent Democrats" rowspan=2| | style="text-align: left;" scope="row" rowspan=2 | Independent Democrats |style="text-align:left"|Permanent | | | | | | | | |1 |1 |rowspan=2|2 |- |style="text-align:left"|Special | | | | | | | |1 | |1 |- |New National Party (South Africa) |style="text-align:left"|Permanent | | | | | | | |1 |1 |colspan=2|2 |- |African Christian Democratic Party |style="text-align:left"|Special | | | | | | | | |1 |colspan=2|1 |- |Freedom Front Plus |style="text-align:left"|Permanent | |1 | | | | | | | |colspan=2|1 |- |United Christian Democratic Party |style="text-align:left"|Permanent | | | | | | |1 | | |colspan=2|1 |- |United Democratic Movement |style="text-align:left"|Permanent |1 | | | | | | | | |colspan=2|1 |-style="background:#e9e9e9;" !colspan="3" style="text-align:left"|Total !10 !10 !10 !10 !10 !10 !10 !10 !10 !colspan=2|90 |} Aftermath Thabo Mbeki was re-elected president (unopposed) by the National Assembly on 23 April 2004 in 2004 South African presidential election.IPU PARLINE database: SOUTH AFRICA (National Assembly), Elections in 2004 https://data.ipu.org/election-summary/HTML/2291_04.htm 2026-09-23 data.ipu.org Notes to the tables note References External links Official IEC election results South African general election, 2004 on electionresources.org Election results from the South African Broadcasting Corporation Category:General elections in South Africa South Africa General South Africa Category:Thabo Mbeki