Politics of South Africa

Politics Of South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a unitary, parliamentary republic. The President of South Africa serves both as head of state and as head of government - in the same manner as prime ministers of other nations, the President is elected by the National Assembly (the lower house of the South African Parliament) and must enjoy the confidence of the Assembly in order to remain in office. South Africans also elect provincial legislatures which govern each of the country's nine provinces.

Since the end of apartheid in the 1990s the African National Congress (ANC) has dominated South Africa's politics. The ANC is the ruling party in the national legislature, as well as in eight of the nine provinces, having received 65.9% of the vote during the 2009 general election and 62.9% of the popular vote in the 2011 municipal election. The main challenger to the ANC's rule is the Democratic Alliance, led by Helen Zille, which received 16.66% of the vote in the 2009 election and 24.1% of the popular vote in the 2011 election. Other major political parties represented in Parliament include the Inkatha Freedom Party, which mainly represents Zulu voters, with 4.55%; and the Congress of the People with 7.42% in the 2009 election. The formerly dominant New National Party, which both introduced and ended apartheid through its predecessor the National Party, disbanded in 2005 to merge with the ANC.

As of 2012 Jacob Zuma serves as the South African president.