South Africa Elections 2009An Expat’s Take on the Elections in South Africa
Let me assure you, that life here is safe, safer than in many places around the world and I am not talking only about Pakistan or India, who currently have their cricket matches staged in Cape Town and other great South African Cities. On April 22, 2009 South Africa held its fourth democratic elections and for the first time since apartheid the ANC won the elections but lost the two-third majority and lost one province, the Western Cape, to the DA (Democratic Alliance), the opposition party. Now it is time for the people in South Africa to wait and see if the South African government, their service delivery and the living conditions of many South African citizens will improve under the presidency of the presidential candidate Jacob Zuma. But as expatriates or travelers you might have some questions too: Shall I move or travel to South Africa? What will happen to South Africa now after the election of a controversely discussed president? Will crime and corruption get worse in this beautiful country? Should we worry or even think of moving out like many South Africans have done for the last years? An article published by the Cape Argus on the day after the elections gave a dire picture of the support of the South African people who took part in a readers' survey: Of the total votes 59% are ready to pack and go (24%) or have already left (33%) and only 41 % are prepared to come home now (8%) or alright with the current situation (33%). Another insight can be found in a recent Cape Argus article here. Well, the topic of national elections and a change in the cabinet always creates insecurity among many population groups in regards to the future direction of a country. Zimbabwe is one of the frightening examples and so close by. The confidence of business might drop and the tourism sector could destabilize should any infightings arise. So here are some statistical facts and information I found during my own research into the topic which shall help you to understand better what is going on in South Africa currently. Elections in South AfricaThe South Africa elections 2009 took place on Wednesday April 22. These were the 4th free and independent democratic elections in South Africa.The first democratic elections after four decades of Apartheid ruling were held in 1999, when Nelson Mandela became South Africa’s first democratically elected president. In the South Africa elections 2009 the South African people decided with their two votes which party will have the most seats in national government and in the provincial government. With their vote they therefore chose the new South African president who will be nominated by the party winning the majority of votes at the beginning of May. There were 26 political parties taking part and contesting nationwide for the seats in the National Assembly of the South African Parliament. South Africa Elections ResultsIn the National Elections in 2009 the majority of the votes was won by the ANC with 65.9% and their presidential candidate is the 67 year old Jacob Zuma .The strongest opposition parties were the DA (Democratic Alliance) with 16,6% and COPE (Congress of the People) with 7,4%who was formed mainly by former ANC politicians who split from the party due to infighting only four month ago. In the Western Cape the Democratic Alliance won the provincial elections 2009 for the first time with an overwhelming majority of 51,4%. The ANC lost a huge number of votes and got only 31% of the ballots.
Helen Zille , who is the major of Cape Town and the opposition leader of the Democratic Alliance is expected to step down from her job as major and take over the provincial government. The support in the province is strong, however it seems that the DA is searching for coalitions with other opposition parties like the ID and Cope.
Elections and Voting FactsThe South African president is elected every five years by the National Assembly and the National council of the nine provinces which consists of 400 Parlamentarians which were voted in Parliament through the public elections.In the last general elections in South Africa in 2004 Thabo Mbeki was nominated as president by the winning party ANC (African National Cogress). Mbeki however was recalled by Parliament in 2008 and the functions of the presidency were taken over by Kgalema Motlanthe, who already in 2007 was elected as deputy president of the ANC. All South Africans from the age of 18 have the right to vote, but must register to do so. For the first time also South African expariates living abroad were able to cast their votes on April 15, 2009 at the foreign missions. Of the 9857 South African abroad who voted at these foreign missions, the opposition party DA won 75% of the votes. Read my facts about the South African Population here
In 2009 there were 19,700 polling stations across South Africa, the voting districts were so different, that some stations were so small with only 6 registered voters and some expected thousands of South African. The polling stations had to be opened longer at some places as there were long queues of people who had not voted by the time the stations were supposed to close. The Cape Argus called it therefore "The all-night election". 23 million voters registered out of the countries 49 million South Africans. This is a stunning figure if you realize that roughly 20 million South Africans are under the age of 18 referring to the official statistics at www.statssa.gov.za. This means that 29 million of voters who have the right to vote almost 80% of the South African people registered to vote in 2009. In the Western Province with Cape Town as the capital 73% of the 2.6 million registered South Africans had voted by 10.55.pm. The voter turnout was high in many places again. In Cape Town which is the biggest voting district in the Western Province 77% cast their ballots. During the elections there were more than 300 international observers who had a watchful eye on the polls and declared the elections fair, free and transparent.
South Africa elections resourcesIf you are interested to read about the voting experiences of South Africans during the elections, read some great reports here. .Where to get the past South Africa elections results? Take a look at the IEC (Independent Electoral Commissions) Homepage . Get more insights into the topicSouth Africa elections at this special independent
elections guide
with media analysis supported by the Times
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