2009 South African general election

none September 2020 May 2012 South Africa 1994 parliamentary 2004 South African general election 2004 List of National Assembly members of the 24th Parliament of South Africa 22 April 2009 2014 South African general election 2014 List of National Assembly members of the 25th Parliament of South Africa All 400 seats in the National Assembly 201 23,181,997 77.30% ( 0.60pp) 130x130px Jacob Zuma, 2009 World Economic Forum on Africa-9-2.jpg 120 120 160 0 0 Jacob Zuma African National Congress 69.69%, 279 seats 264 15 11,650,748 65.90% 3.79pp FIFA welcome with the Premier (cropped).jpg 145 120 160 0 8 Helen Zille Democratic Alliance (South Africa) 12.37%, 50 seats 67 17 2,945,829 16.66% 4.29pp Mosiuoa Lekota, December 1999.jpg 125 120 160 0 0 Mosiuoa Lekota Congress of the People (South African political party) Did not exist 30 New party 1,311,027 7.42% New party Mangosuthu Buthelezi, May 2019 (cropped).png 120 120 160 Mangosuthu Buthelezi Inkatha Freedom Party 6.97%, 28 seats 18 10 804,260 4.55% 2.42pp Patricia de Lille, March 2011.jpg 160 120 160 8 Patricia de Lille Independent Democrats 1.73%, 7 seats 4 3 162,915 0.92% 0.81pp Bantu Holomisa (cropped).png 120 120 160 Bantu Holomisa United Democratic Movement 2.28%, 9 seats 4 5 149,680 0.85% 1.43pp 2009 South African general election.svg 390px President Kgalema Motlanthe African National Congress Jacob Zuma African National Congress thumb|upright|Election ballot. General elections were held in South Africa on 22 April 2009 to elect members of the National Assembly and provincial legislatures. These were the fourth general elections held since the end of the apartheid era.Independent Online 2009-02-10 News - South Africa: Motlanthe sets election date http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=iol1234269546566E423 https://web.archive.org/web/20090213204848/http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=iol1234269546566E423 2009-02-13 www.iol.co.za The North Gauteng High Court ruled on 9 February 2009 that South African citizens living abroad should be allowed to vote in elections.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7878858.stm BBC News Court backs S Africa expat vote 9 February 2009 23 May 2010 The judgment was confirmed by the Constitutional Court on 12 March 2009, when it decided that overseas voters who were already registered would be allowed to vote.South African registered overseas voters can vote - People's Daily Online Registered voters who found themselves outside their registered voting districts on election day were also permitted to vote for the national ballot at any voting station in South Africa. The result was a victory for the ruling African National Congress (ANC), which won 264 of the 400 seats in the National Assembly, a fifteen seat reduction compared to the 2004 elections and losing its two-thirds supermajority. ANC leader Jacob Zuma became president. Background and campaign African National Congress – ruling party The African National Congress was the ruling party in parliament going into the 2009 elections, having won 69.69% of the vote at the 2004 elections. During its term in office a number of internal changes occurred, the primary one being the election of Jacob Zuma to the party presidency ahead of Thabo Mbeki at the 52nd National Conference of the African National Congress held on 18 December 2007.(Press Statement: Results for the Election of ANC Officials, 19 December 2007) https://web.archive.org/web/20080629130037/http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/pr/2007/pr1219.html 29 June 2008 Zuma's victory in the election was partly due to the wide degree of support for him from the ANC Youth League, the South African Communist Party and the Congress of South African Trade Unions.April 2009 Subsequent to this, in 2008 Zuma's ongoing corruption trial in relation to a multi-billion Rand arms deal was dismissed by the courts, which insinuated that Mbeki had unduly influenced the investigation into Zuma. In light of the court's findings, the ANC's National Executive Committee asked Mbeki to resign as president of the country, which he duly did on 20 September 2008. Mbeki was replaced by Kgalema Motlanthe, who had been elected as ANC deputy president at the 2007 conference. Motlanthe was not the presidential candidate of the ANC for the 2009 general election, but rather the current President of the ANC, Jacob Zuma.http://www.anc.org.za/show.php?doc=./ancdocs/pr/2008/pr0108.html https://web.archive.org/web/20110524230625/http://www.anc.org.za/show.php?doc=.%2Fancdocs%2Fpr%2F2008%2Fpr0108.html 24 May 2011 (Statement of the ANC National Executive Committee, 8 January 2008.) The ANC National Executive Committee confirmed that "the ANC President will lead the ANC election campaign as the organisation's candidate for president of South Africa in the 2009 election." The ANC's electoral list was led by Zuma, followed by Motlanthe, Deputy President of South Africa Baleka Mbete, finance minister Trevor Manuel and Winnie Mandela, former wife of Nelson Mandela.Winnie Mandela set for fast track to power in South Africa 2009-03-01 The Guardian https://web.archive.org/web/20220812033901/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/mar/01/winnie-mandela-mp-south-africa 2022-08-12 live https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/mar/01/winnie-mandela-mp-south-africa The recall of Mbeki, amongst other issues, created severe tensions and splits within the party, and eventually led to the formation of the Congress of the People, a new political party formed by former ANC members. Nevertheless, most pre-poll predictions gave the ANC between sixty and seventy per cent of the popular vote; even the lowest prediction, giving the ANC 47 per cent, still rendered it comfortably South Africa's most favoured political party.Perry, Alex. "South African Election: Why It Matters." TIME. 21 April 2009. . Retrieved 21 April 2009. Democratic Alliance – official opposition The Democratic Alliance, South Africa's main opposition party, had undergone a leadership change, with Cape Town mayor and former anti-apartheid activist Helen Zille having succeeded long-serving Tony Leon in May 2007. With a disproportionate focus on the Western Cape province, which it had identified as winnable, the DA launched its election campaign with the slogan "Vote to Win". It released its manifesto on 14 February.http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/Politics/0,,2-7-12_2453712,00.html DA election launch in Soweto News24 15 January 2009April 2019 InternetArchiveBot yes The party was expected to perform strongly in the Western Cape, with analysts suggesting it would take control of the province from the ruling ANC.http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20080907082630608C621670 Minorities become important as polls loom IOL 7 September 2008 2 July 2009 The ANC's support in the province was on the wane, while the DA had performed well in by-elections in the province leading up to the poll.http://www.polity.org.za/article/da-helen-zille-leader-of-the-democratic-alliance-on-the-partys-victory-in-the-western-cape-by--elections-26032009-2009-03-26 DA: Helen Zille, leader of the Democratic Alliance, on the party's victory in the Western Cape by-elections dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090604001710/http://www.polity.org.za/article/da-helen-zille-leader-of-the-democratic-alliance-on-the-partys-victory-in-the-western-cape-by--elections-26032009-2009-03-26 4 June 2009 The party projected that it would govern in the Western Cape province – a task made easier by the ANC-COPE split – though it expected to need to form a governing coalition in order to do so.http://www.sabcnews.com/portal/site/SABCNews/menuitem.5c4f8fe7ee929f602ea12ea1674daeb9/?vgnextoid=88c9d87f65f8d110VgnVCM10000072d4ea9bRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&channelPath=Politics%20%3E%3E%20Parties DA sets its sights on governing Western Cape SABC 12 November 2008 13 April 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20110629001630/http://www.sabcnews.com/portal/site/SABCNews/menuitem.5c4f8fe7ee929f602ea12ea1674daeb9/?vgnextoid=88c9d87f65f8d110VgnVCM10000072d4ea9bRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&channelPath=Politics%20%3E%3E%20Parties 29 June 2011 dead The party anticipated that it would take control of several other major cities and towns in the 2011 local elections, and, with what it termed a "realignment of SA politics", predicted it would take its "winning streak" into the 2014 elections, when it plans to challenge for the mantle of ruling party.http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=6&art_id=vn20081111052622481C160869 DA plans to rule SA from 2014 IOL 11 November 2008 The DA's relationship with ANC breakaway party Cope started strongly. Cope leader Mosiuoa Lekota showed a willingness to co-operate with Zille in the future.http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20081119054936918C666528 Lekota open to DA Alliance IOL 19 November 2008http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_South%20Africa&set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20081119114020483C805306 Zille backs Lekota's views IOL 19 November 2008April 2019 InternetArchiveBot yes Subsequently, Zille criticised COPE's internal structures and suggested many of the party's new members were merely Mbeki loyalists hoping to resurrect defunct political careers.http://www.thetimes.co.za/PrintEdition/News/Article.aspx?id=915900 Zille slams COPE as a ploy to resurrect political careers 10 January 2009May 2018 InternetArchiveBot yes In the closing stages of the DA's campaign, it launched its "Stop Zuma" drive, which came under considerable criticism in the press—political analysts dubbing the tactic an example of "negative" politics. Zille later retorted, however, that what was really negative was the idea of handing over the right to change the Constitution unilaterally to Jacob Zuma and his "closed, crony network", as they would abuse that right both to enrich themselves and to protect themselves from prosecution. She later claimed the decline in the ANC's support base and the concomitant increase in that of her own party was a result of the DA 'Stop Zuma' campaign. Electoral system The 400 members of the National Assembly were elected by closed list proportional representation; two hundred members were elected from national party lists and 200 from provincial party lists in each of the nine provinces. The President of South Africa was chosen by the National Assembly after the election; in 2009, the presidential election was held on 6 May. The premiers of each province are chosen by the winning majority in each provincial legislature. Boycott A number of communities, organisations, social movements and well-known personalities threatened not to vote in the 2009 elections. http://www.sowetan.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=985309 60 landless people arrested The SowetanMay 2018 InternetArchiveBot yes http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3086&art_id=nw20090422075128792C870279 Protesters refuse to vote IOL https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8007727.stm 'One house, one vote' for South Africans BBC 21 April 2009 4 January 2010 http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=6&art_id=vn20090419064424658C843460 'No land, no home, no vote' Weekend Argus http://www.capeargus.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=4940546 Feeling of change in the West Coast air Cape Argus The most well-known personality was Archbishop Desmond Tutu who at first said he would not vote but then changed his mind.*http://www.thetimes.co.za/PrintEdition/Article.aspx?id=856421 Tutu: Why I Won't Vote TheTimes 24 April 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20081008054336/http://www.thetimes.co.za/PrintEdition/Article.aspx?id=856421 8 October 2008 dead http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=iol1240389734775T313 Tutu decides to vote IOL South Africa's Poor People's Alliance, the Anti-Privatisation Forum, NOPE, and the independent farmworkers' union Sikhula Sonke resolved to boycott the election under the banner No Land! No House! No Vote!.* http://sacsis.org.za/site/article/245.1 Elections: A Dangerous Time for Poor People's Movements in South Africa SACSIS 21 April 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20110428202117/http://www.sacsis.org.za/site/article/245.1 28 April 2011 dead http://www.abahlali.org/node/865 "No Vote" Campaigns are not a Rejection of Democracy Mail and Guardian http://allafrica.com/stories/200904201398.html Farm Workers Announce Election Boycott AllAfrica http://antieviction.org.za/2009/04/21/frontpage-argus-why-we-refuse-to-vote/ Why we refuse to vote Cape Argus 21 April 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090424043235/http://antieviction.org.za/2009/04/21/frontpage-argus-why-we-refuse-to-vote/ 24 April 2009 dead http://www.nope.org.za/ NOPE our dreams don't fit on your ballots dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090326022934/http://www.nope.org.za/ 26 March 2009 http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/9282 Grassroots movements plan to boycott South African poll ekklesia 24 April 2009 23 April 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090423054912/http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/9282 dead http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/55639 Tutu: Why Steve Biko wouldn't vote Pambazuka http://www.polity.org.za/article/nope-your-vote-doesnt-make-a-difference-2009-03-31 Nope your vote doesn't make a difference Polity 24 April 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090427131828/http://www.polity.org.za/article/nope-your-vote-doesnt-make-a-difference-2009-03-31 27 April 2009 dead http://www.ngopulse.org/newsflash/farm-workers-threaten-boycott-elections Farm workers threaten boycott elections Polity 24 April 2009 12 April 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210412195443/http://www.ngopulse.org/newsflash/farm-workers-threaten-boycott-elections dead Results right vertical 220 South Africa national election 2009 winner by ward.svg South Africa national election 2009 winner by ward cartogram.svg Most popular party in each ward, depicted as a map (top), and as a cartogram in which size is proportional to the number of votes cast (bottom). #33a02c#b2df8a African National Congress #1f78b4#a6cee9 Democratic Alliance #dfd711#ffff99 Congress of the People #e31a1c#fb9a99 Inkatha Freedom Party #ff7f00#fdbf6f Independent Democrats #6a3d9a#cab2d6 United Democratic Movement The darker shade indicates a majority, while the lighter shade indicates a non-majority plurality. thumb|Map showing, for each municipality, the percentage point change in the ANC's share of the vote since the 2004 election #1b7837 37.5–50 pp to the ANC #5aae61 25–37.5 pp to the ANC #a6dba0 12.5–25 pp to the ANC #d9f0d3 0–12.5 pp to the ANC #e7d4e8 0–12.5 pp away from the ANC #c2a5cf 12.5–25 pp away from the ANC #9970ab 25–37.5 pp away from the ANC #762a83 37.5–50 pp away from the ANC The ANC, which has been in power since 1994, obtained 65.90% of valid votes cast on the national ballot, making it just shy of being able to change the constitution. The DA retained its position as the official opposition and also won the election in the Western Cape province with an outright majority. Some 23-million people were registered for the 2009 general elections, which was about 2.5 million more than in 2004. There was a 77.3% turnout of registered voters, 1.34% of whom spoiled their ballots rendering them invalid.IEC Election Report 2009 http://www.elections.org.za/content/Dynamic.aspx?id=1344&name=Elections&LeftMenuId=100&BreadCrumbId=220 IEC 21 April 2014 About 12-million people eligible to vote either did not register to vote (about 7-million), or did register but did not vote (5.4 million).http://www.sundaytribune.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=4962121 Building a base for a credible opposition SundayTribune 3 May 2009 In this election, there was a slight decrease in voter abstention though there was at least one high-profile election and registration boycotts campaign, the No Land! No House! No Vote! Campaign. The Independent Electoral Commission made results available on their website as they were received from voting districts, filtered by national, provincial, municipality, and voting district.Independent Electoral Commission National Assembly African National Congress 11650748 264 −15 Democratic Alliance 2945829 67 +17 Congress of the People 1311027 30 New Inkatha Freedom Party 804260 18 −10 Independent Democrats 162915 4 −3 United Democratic Movement 149680 4 −5 Freedom Front Plus 146796 4 0 African Christian Democratic Party 142658 3 −4 United Christian Democratic Party 66086 2 −1 Pan Africanist Congress 48530 1 −2 Minority Front 43474 1 −1 Azanian People's Organisation 38245 1 0 African People's Convention 35867 1 New Movement Democratic Party 29747 0 New Al Jama-ah 25947 0 New Christian Democratic Alliance 11638 0 0 National Democratic Convention 10830 0 New New Vision Party 9296 0 New United Independent Front 8872 0 New Great Kongress of South Africa 8271 0 New South African Democratic Congress 6035 0 New Keep It Straight and Simple Party 5440 0 0 Pan Africanist Movement 5426 0 New Alliance of Free Democrats 5178 0 New Women Forward 5087 0 New A Party 2847 0 New 0 239237 23181997 Election Resources Provincial legislatures The following table summarises the results of the elections to the provincial legislatures. The majority party in each province is indicated in bold. PartyECFSGKZNLMNWNCWC African National Congress442247514327251914 Democratic Alliance63167223422 Congress of the People946141353 Inkatha Freedom Party118 Independent Democrats122 African Christian Democratic Party111 United Democratic Movement3 Freedom Front Plus11 Minority Front2 United Christian Democratic Party2 African Independent Congress1Total633073804930333042 Eastern Cape African National Congress 1552676 44 −7 Congress of the People 308439 9 New Democratic Alliance 225310 6 +1 United Democratic Movement 93196 3 −3 African Independent Congress 17306 1 New Pan Africanist Congress 12108 0 −1 African Christian Democratic Party 11974 0 0 Independent Democrats 10466 0 0 Azanian People's Organisation 4598 0 0 African People's Convention 4517 0 New Freedom Front Plus 4428 0 0 Inkatha Freedom Party 2270 0 0 National Democratic Convention 2027 0 New Pan Africanist Movement 1921 0 New United Christian Democratic Party 1908 0 0 Christian Democratic Alliance 1663 0 New New Vision Party 1281 0 New 0 32299 3056559 Election Resources Free State African National Congress 734688 22 −3 Congress of the People 120018 4 New Democratic Alliance 119844 3 0 Freedom Front Plus 20780 1 0 Dikwankwetla Party 11257 0 0 African Christian Democratic Party 7556 0 −1 United Democratic Movement 3722 0 0 United Christian Democratic Party 3459 0 0 Pan Africanist Congress 3449 0 0 African People's Convention 3200 0 New Inkatha Freedom Party 2232 0 0 Independent Democrats 1654 0 0 National Democratic Convention 1065 0 New Peace and Justice Congress 398 0 New 0 15744 1388588 Election Resources Gauteng African National Congress 2662013 47 −4 Democratic Alliance 908616 16 +1 Congress of the People 323327 6 New Freedom Front Plus 67660 1 0 Inkatha Freedom Party 61856 1 −1 African Christian Democratic Party 36099 1 0 Independent Democrats 25243 1 0 United Democratic Movement 16480 0 −1 Pan Africanist Congress 12880 0 −1 United Christian Democratic Party 10091 0 0 Azanian People's Organisation 8927 0 0 Movement Democratic Party 5731 0 New African People's Convention 5123 0 New Christian Democratic Alliance 2901 0 0 African Christian Alliance 2541 0 New Women Forward 1974 0 New Great Kongress of South Africa 1909 0 New National Democratic Convention 1497 0 New Alliance of Free Democrats 1101 0 New New Vision Party 1079 0 New 0 42815 5555159 Election Resources KwaZulu-Natal African National Congress 2192516 51 +13 Inkatha Freedom Party 780027 18 −12 Democratic Alliance 318559 7 0 Minority Front 71507 2 0 Congress of the People 44890 1 New African Christian Democratic Party 23537 1 −1 United Democratic Movement 7953 0 −1 Al Jama-ah 7612 0 New National Democratic Convention 6881 0 New Independent Democrats 6853 0 0 Freedom Front Plus 5760 0 0 African People's Convention 5087 0 New South African Democratic Congress 3883 0 New Pan Africanist Congress 2578 0 0 Women Forward 1816 0 New United Christian Democratic Party 1798 0 0 Great Kongress of South Africa 1730 0 New 0 43713 4475217 Election Resources Limpopo African National Congress 1265631 43 −2 Congress of the People 112325 4 New Democratic Alliance 51856 2 0 African Christian Democratic Party 10246 0 −1 Freedom Front Plus 9035 0 0 Pan Africanist Congress 7934 0 0 New Vision Party 6497 0 New Azanian People's Organisation 5640 0 0 United Democratic Movement 5193 0 −1 African People's Convention 4455 0 New Ximoko Party 3452 0 0 United Independent Front 1769 0 New Black Consciousness Party 1432 0 New Independent Democrats 1333 0 0 United Christian Democratic Party 1320 0 0 Alliance of Free Democrats 1041 0 New Women Forward 977 0 New Inkatha Freedom Party 936 0 New 0 22549 2256073 Election Resources Mpumalanga African National Congress 1110190 27 0 Democratic Alliance 97204 2 0 Congress of the People 37789 1 New Freedom Front Plus 11590 0 −1 African Christian Democratic Party 6565 0 0 Inkatha Freedom Party 6540 0 0 Sindawonye Progressive Party 6423 0 0 African People's Convention 4834 0 New Pan Africanist Congress 4097 0 0 United Democratic Movement 3366 0 0 Azanian People's Organisation 2928 0 0 Christian Party 2435 0 New Independent Democrats 1527 0 0 National Democratic Convention 1374 0 New United Christian Democratic Party 913 0 0 0 19119 1696705 Election Resources North West African National Congress 783794 25 −2 Congress of the People 89573 3 New Democratic Alliance 88728 3 +1 United Christian Democratic Party 56678 2 −1 Freedom Front Plus 19463 0 −1 African Christian Democratic Party 7366 0 0 United Democratic Movement 5467 0 0 Independent Democrats 4984 0 0 Movement Democratic Party 4432 0 New African People's Convention 3116 0 New Pan Africanist Congress 2831 0 0 Azanian People's Organisation 2712 0 0 South African Political Party 1832 0 New African Christian Alliance 1750 0 New Inkatha Freedom Party 1619 0 0 National Democratic Convention 978 0 New 0 21007 1564357 Election Resources Northern Cape African National Congress 245699 19 −2 Congress of the People 67416 5 New Democratic Alliance 50817 4 +1 Independent Democrats 19995 2 0 Freedom Front Plus 5034 0 −1 United Christian Democratic Party 4889 0 0 African Christian Democratic Party 4041 0 −1 Azanian People's Organisation 2439 0 0 African People's Convention 1364 0 New Pan Africanist Congress 882 0 0 Inkatha Freedom Party 757 0 0 United Democratic Movement 604 0 0 Christian Democratic Alliance 481 0 New 0 6190 554900 Election Resources Western Cape 2009 Western Cape provincial election Results 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. {| class=wikitable style=text-align:right !colspan=2 rowspan=2|Party !rowspan=2|Delegate type !colspan=9 style="text-align:center"|Province !colspan=2 rowspan=2|Total |- !EC !FS !G !KZN !L !M !NW !NC !WC |- |bgcolor=African National Congress rowspan=2| |align=left rowspan=2|African National Congress |align=left|Permanent |4 |4 |4 |4 |5 |5 |4 |3 |2 |35 |rowspan=2|62 |- |align=left|Special |3 |3 |3 |3 |4 |4 |3 |3 |1 |27 |- |bgcolor=Democratic Alliance (South Africa) rowspan=2| |align=left rowspan=2|Democratic Alliance |align=left|Permanent |1 |1 |1 |1 | |1 |1 |1 |3 |10 |rowspan=2|13 |- |align=left|Special | | |1 | | | | | |2 |3 |- |bgcolor=Congress of the People (South African political party) rowspan=2| |align=left rowspan=2|Congress of the People |align=left|Permanent |1 |1 |1 | |1 | |1 |1 |1 |7 |rowspan=2|8 |- |align=left|Special | | | | | | | |1 | |1 |- |bgcolor=Independent Democrats rowspan=2| |align=left rowspan=2|Independent Democrats |align=left|Permanent | | | | | | | |1 | |1 |rowspan=2|2 |- |align=left|Special | | | | | | | | |1 |1 |- |bgcolor=Inkatha Freedom Party rowspan=2| |align=left rowspan=2|Inkatha Freedom Party |align=left|Permanent | | | |1 | | | | | |1 |rowspan=2|2 |- |align=left|Special | | | |1 | | | | | |1 |- |bgcolor=Freedom Front Plus| ||align=left|Freedom Front Plus |align=left|Special | |1 | | | | | | | |colspan=2|1 |- |bgcolor=United Christian Democratic Party| ||align=left|United Christian Democratic Party |align=left|Special | | | | | | |1 | | |colspan=2|1 |- |bgcolor=United Democratic Movement| ||align=left|United Democratic Movement |align=left|Special |1 | | | | | | | | |colspan=2|1 |- !colspan="3" style="text-align:left"|Total !10 !10 !10 !10 !10 !10 !10 !10 !10 !colspan=2|90 |} Aftermath April 2016 The ANC received widespread congratulations for its decisive national victory, both from international and domestic sources. This included the opposition, with DA leader Helen Zille acknowledging that the people had given it a strong mandate to rule. "We trust that the ANC will not abuse this confidence, and will govern well and in the interests of all South Africans."https://www.da.org.za/archive/sa-today-thank-you-for-voting-for-change/ Home However, with 65.9% of the vote and 264 seats in the National Assembly (down from 74.3% and 297 seats), the ANC no longer had the two-thirds majority it needed to change the Constitution unilaterally. The governing party had lost considerable support in 8 of the 9 provinces, partially compensated for by a big increase in KwaZulu-Natal at the expense of the IFP. Thanking supporters the following week,We fulfilled our key objectives - Helen Zille - NEWS & ANALYSIS Politicsweb https://www.politicsweb.co.za/news-and-analysis/we-fulfilled-our-key-objectives--helen-zille 2021-06-02 www.politicsweb.co.za DA leader Helen Zille related proudly that her party had achieved all three of its primary objectives: it had kept the ANC below a two-thirds majority (albeit only just), won an outright majority in the Western Cape and significantly improved its standing in parliament.http://www.politicsweb.co.za/news-and-analysis/we-fulfilled-our-key-objectives--helen-zille We fulfilled our key objectives - Helen Zille - NEWS & ANALYSIS | Politicsweb Zille saw the results as a vindication of the party's statement at the beginning of its campaign that the only two genuine political forces in South Africa were the DA and the ANC, with the latter losing support while the former consistently gained it, and voters refusing to waste their ballots on small, insignificant parties. See also African National Congress candidates for the 2009 South African general election List of political parties in South Africa 2011 South African municipal election 25th South African Parliament References General election Category:General elections in South Africa General election South Africa