At stake in this election:

• 400 seats in the National Assembly of South Africa

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Jacob ZUMA
• Head of Government: President Jacob ZUMA
• Assembly: South Africa has a bicameral Parliament consisting of the National Council of Provinces with 90 seats and the National Assembly with 400 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• In the National Assembly, 400 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms. The PR tier is broken into a national list and regional lists, both of which elect 200 members of the National Assembly. In the regional tier there are 9 multi-member districts, each corresponding to a province, with seats allocated in proportion to population. In both tiers, the electoral system is closed list proportional representation.

Election Notes:

• The last elections to the National Assembly were held on April 22, 2009. The African National Congress retained its legislative majority and Jacob ZUMA was elected President. The 2014 elections will be held alongside elections for provincial legislatures. Following the election, the new members of the National Assembly will elect the President of South Africa. Additionally, following the election, members will elected by the provincial legislatures to serve in the National Council of Provinces.

Main parties in this electoral race:[1]

• African National Congress (ANC)[2]
  • Leader: Jacob ZUMA
  • Seats won in last National Assembly election: 264
• Democratic Alliance (DA)
  • Leader: Helen ZILLE
  • Seats won in last National Assembly election: 67
• Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF)
  • Leader: Julius MALEMA
  • Seats won in last National Assembly election: N/A[3]
• Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP)
  • Leader: Mangosuthu BUTHELEZI
  • Seats won in last National Assembly election: 18
• African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP)
  • Leader: Kenneth MESHOE
  • Seats won in last National Assembly election: 3
• Congress of the People (COPE)
  • Leader: Mosiuoa LEKOTA[4]
  • Seats won in last National Assembly election: 30
• Agang South Africa
  • Leader: Mamphela RAMPHELE
  • Seats won in last National Assembly election: N/A[5]
• United Democratic Movement (UDM)
  • Leader: Bantubonke HOLOMISA
  • Seats won in last National Assembly election: 4
• Freedom Front Plus (FF+) / Vryheidsfront Plus (VF+)
  • Leader: Pieter MULDER
  • Seats won in last National Assembly election: 4
• National Freedom Party (NFP)
  • Leader: Zanele kaMAGWAZA-MSIBI
  • Seats won in last National Assembly election: N/A[6]

Election Notes:

• The last elections to the National Assembly were held on April 22, 2009. The African National Congress retained its legislative majority and Jacob ZUMA was elected President. The 2014 elections will be held alongside elections for provincial legislatures. Following the election, the new members of the National Assembly will elect the President of South Africa. Additionally, following the election, members will elected by the provincial legislatures to serve in the National Council of Provinces.

Population and Voter Registration:

• Population: 54,058,647 (2014)
• Registered Voters: 25,362,023 (8 April 2014)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 27,490,841 (2014)

·         Is South Africa a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (29 January 1993)

·         Has South Africa ratified CEDAW: Yes (15 December 1995)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 163 (National Assembly); 19 (National Council) following the 2014 elections

·         Human Development Index Position: 116 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is South Africa a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has South Africa ratified CRPD: Yes (30 November 2007)

·         Population with a disability: 8,108,797 (est.)