The National Assembly, the main legislative house of South Africa’s bicameral Parliament, elects the president to serve concurrently with its five-year terms. Parliament can vote to replace the president at any time, and presidents can serve a maximum of two terms of five years each.

In 2018, the National Assembly selected Cyril Ramaphosa, who had replaced former president Jacob Zuma as head of the African National Congress (ANC), to serve as acting president. In the May 2019 national elections, the ANC won 57.5 percent of the vote, and the National Assembly selected Ramaphosa to serve a full term as president.

The 400-seat National Assembly is elected to five-year terms by party-list proportional representation. The 90 members of the upper chamber, the National Council of Provinces, are selected by provincial legislatures. Parliamentary and provincial elections were concurrently held in May 2019. The ANC won 230 National Assembly seats, the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) won 84 seats and maintained control over Western Cape Province, The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) won 44 seats, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) won 14, Freedom Front Plus (FF+) won 10, and smaller parties won the remaining 18 seats.

Municipal elections are held separately from national and provincial elections. The November 2021 municipal elections were declared credible by independent observer missions. The ANC recorded its worst outcome since the end of apartheid, taking only 46 percent of the vote.

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) is largely considered independent, and the electoral framework is considered fair. In October 2022, President Ramaphosa appointed elections manager Mosotho Simon Moepya as the IEC’s new chairman after the previous chairman’s term expired.

Parliament passed the Electoral Amendment Act in February 2023 and President Ramaphosa signed it into law in April, enabling independent candidates to contest seats in the provincial legislatures and National Assembly for the first time. In December, in response to a legal challenge the Constitutional Court ruled that independent candidates only needed to obtain 1,000 signatures for eligibility rather than the original requirement of 15 percent of the previous election’s quota, though the 15 percent rule remained in place for new parties. The court declined to overturn a restriction that limits independent candidates to contesting only 200 out of the 400 National Assembly seats.

The ANC, which is part of a tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the South African Communist Party (SACP), has won every national election since 1994. Nevertheless, the political environment is generally free from formal constraints, and opposition parties, including newer political groups, have gained ground in recent elections.

The biggest threat to free choice is political violence, especially in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, where electoral contests have been preceded or followed by killings. In September 2023, the independent news platform News24 calculated that 150 politicians had been killed in the province since 2011, 19 of whom had been killed in the preceding 12 months. In 2018 a government appointed commission concluded that political parties “must take responsibility for the violent competition between their members for political positions,” which it said was motivated by the desire to control state contracts. The commission recommended that the civil service be depoliticized and professionalized. In 2016 the government established a dedicated team of police officers responsible for cracking down on political killings, and in 2018, the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Political Killings was formed to oversee the investigations of politically motivated killings.

In September 2023, the IMC reported that 155 cases of murder, 51 of attempted murder, 77 of intimidation, 12 of conspiracy to commit murder and 26 other related cases were under investigation. Additionally, it reported that 348 suspects had been arrested, 62 had been convicted, 155 had been involved in court procedures, and 17 arrested suspects had died. Bheki Cele, the Minister of Police, said the government was intensifying its anticrime strategies ahead of the 2024 general elections.

Though the ANC has won every national election since 1994, it recorded its poorest performances since the end of apartheid in the May 2019 national elections and the November 2021 municipal elections. Opposition parties continued to gain traction in 2022, and the ANC again lost voter support in the December municipal by-elections. In its May 2022 policy discussion document, the ANC stated that the party faces the prospect of losing its majority in the 2024 national elections.

People’s political choices in South Africa are largely free from domination by external actors, and the military generally stays out of politics. However, there is widespread corruption within the ANC; party officials have been accused of buying delegates’ votes to the party conference and paying bribes to influence political appointments. There have also been reports of individuals buying party membership cards in bulk to hold full control of specific branches of the party.

In September 2022, the Constitutional Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for officials in senior executive positions, including the president and government ministers, not to declare funding they had received for intraparty campaigns. Some observers say that the ruling has the potential to enhance transparency and reduce excessive spending within political parties.

The constitution prohibits discrimination and provides full political rights for all adult citizens. Women are well represented in government, holding 46 percent of seats in the National Assembly and 3 of 9 provincial premierships. South Africa has one of the world’s most liberal legal environments for LGBT+ people. However, discrimination and the threat of violence can discourage LGBT+ people from political participation in practice.

Pervasive corruption and apparent interference by nonelected actors have hampered the proper functioning of government, particularly during the Zuma administration.

The final report of the Zondo Commission, a judicial commission of inquiry into state capture, was released in June 2022, and recommends that the government investigate and prosecute several high-level ANC politicians on criminal corruption charges. According to the report, the governing ANC enabled corruption on a large scale during the Zuma administration, especially through the awarding of government contracts to businesses owned by or linked to the Gupta business family.

Comprehensive anticorruption laws and several agencies tasked with combating corruption exist, but enforcement has historically been inadequate. Several former and current government officials accused of corruption have not been prosecuted. The Auditor General has outlined in past annual reports that accountability failures have not been addressed. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has struggled to win high-profile state capture cases, raising doubts about its competency, and has also failed to secure the extradition of members and associates of the Gupta family to South Africa.

In October 2022, partially in response to the findings of the Zondo Commission, President Ramaphosa announced that his administration plans to introduce far-reaching reforms to combat corruption within the government, including establishing an independent public procurement agency and creating new mechanisms to protect whistleblowers. However, in 2023 Chief Justice Zondo expressed concern that parliament had been slow to introduce reforms.

In September 2023, Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane was the first head of a Chapter 9 institution, an independent institution established to safeguard democracy, to be impeached by the National Assembly due to incompetence. A multiparty National Assembly committee recommended her removal due to both incompetence and misconduct.

In 2023, former ANC secretary general Ace Magashule, an ally of former president Zuma, was on trial for corruption linked to state contracts he approved while he was premier of the Free State province. Former executives of Transnet, a state-owned logistics company, were undergoing trial for alleged corruption and fraud. Mosebenzi Zwane, a former national minister of mineral resources, was on trial for corrupt deal he authorized while he was part of the Free State government.

Developments following the August 2021 murder of whistleblower Babita Deokaran point to a lack of coherence in dealing with corruption cases and weak protections for whistleblowers. A 2022 media investigation into Deokaran’s death revealed extensive corruption in the local government in Gauteng, the country’s wealthiest province. Although the individuals who conducted the murder were convicted and sentenced, a mastermind was not identified. In 2023, it emerged that the head of the investigation did not act on critical evidence that could have led to the individual responsible for Deokaran’s death. A new investigation was launched in October.

Section 32(1) of the South African constitution states that everyone has the right to access “any information held by the state” and requires that private bodies release information necessary for the exercise and protection of rights. The 2000 Promotion of Access to Information Act created a framework for access to information procedures in both public and private entities. The Independent Electoral Commission regularly publicizes donations that have been disclosed by political parties.

However, in practice the procedure of accessing information is laborious and bureaucratic. A lack of transparency and a lack of competitive bidding have affected the awarding of government contracts. President Ramaphosa promised to reform the government’s procurement system to ensure transparency.

In June 2023, the Public Procurement Bill was presented to parliament. It contained measures to bolster transparency and accountability, including the establishment of a procurement tribunal, and was passed by the National Assembly in December. However, many of the anticorruption measures listed in the bill duplicate existing legislation, including the Public Finance Management Act and the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, underscoring the lack of political will to enforce the laws.

Freedoms of expression and the press are constitutionally protected and generally respected in practice. South Africa features a vibrant and adversarial media landscape, including independent civic groups that help expose government malpractice and efforts to encroach on freedom of expression.

However, journalists are not protected from lawsuits that seek to intimidate and silence critics. From late 2022 until late 2023, former president Jacob Zuma engaged in litigation against legal journalist Karyn Maughan in what was seen as an attempt to discourage her—and the media in general—from reporting on his corruption trial. Supported by the South African National Editors’ Forum, the courts decided in Maughan’s favor as the judiciary took a clear stance in favor of media freedom.

Freedom of religion is constitutionally guaranteed and actively protected by the government. Religious leaders are largely free to engage in discussions of a political nature without fear of adverse consequences.

Academic freedom in South Africa is constitutionally guaranteed and actively protected by the government.

South Africans are generally free to engage in private conversations of a political nature without risk of harassment. In August 2023, the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola introduced the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Amendment Bill to the National Assembly. This bill sought to implement a Constitutional Court ruling that instructed parliament to fix provisions of an existing law protecting civilians from unwarranted state surveillance. The bill includes additional protections for practicing lawyers and journalists subjected to surveillance and gives a designated judge the power to review the conduct of surveillance measures. It was approved by the National Assembly in November.

Freedom of assembly is constitutionally guaranteed and generally respected. South Africa has a vibrant protest culture. Demonstrators must notify police of events ahead of time, but are rarely prohibited from gathering; in 2018, the Constitutional Court ruled that a failure to notify authorities of intent to protest could not be classified as a crime. Protests over the government’s shortcomings in the provision of public services are common in South Africa, though they sometimes turn violent. Police have faced accusations of provoking some protest violence.

South Africa hosts a vibrant civil society. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) can register and operate freely, and lawmakers regularly accept input from NGOs on pending legislation. However, litigation initiated by foreign NGOs has proven aggravating to policymakers, who now see NGOs as political actors capable of blocking policy choices.

South African workers are generally free to form, join, and participate in independent trade unions, and the country’s labor laws offer unionized workers a litany of protections. Contract workers and those in the informal sector enjoy fewer safeguards. Strike activity is very common, and unionized workers often secure above-inflation wage increases. Union rivalries, especially in mining, sometimes result in the use of violent tactics to recruit and retain members and to attack opponents.

The constitution guarantees judicial independence, and courts operate with substantial autonomy in practice. In April 2022, President Ramaphosa appointed Raymond Zondo, head of the inquiry that found extensive evidence of corruption within the government and the ruling ANC, as Chief Justice of South Africa.

Courts have ruled against the government in several high-profile cases. In September 2022, the High Court ruled against the government to order that Ramaphosa’s June suspension of the public protector, who had been investigating several corruption allegations made against the president, could “reasonably be seen as retaliation” and must be lifted.

However, prosecutorial independence in South Africa has been undermined in recent years, with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) experiencing a string of politically motivated appointments and oustings.

The Judicial Service Commission is responsible for enforcing the judicial code of ethics. In 2023, the commission recommended the impeachment of two judges, Gauteng High Court judge Nkola Motata and Western Cape judge President John Hlophe, after the Judicial Conduct Tribunal found them guilty of gross misconduct. The findings were endorsed by parliament’s justice committee.

Shortages of judicial staff and a lack of financial resources undermine defendants’ due process rights, including the right to a timely trial and state-funded legal counsel. Many detainees wait months for their trials to begin, and some are held beyond the legal maximum of two years.

In September 2023, police Minister Bheki Cele reported that approximately 200,000 people had been killed in South Africa in the last 10 years. While 16,000 people were murdered in 2013, the number climbed to 25,000 in 2022.

The constitution prohibits discrimination based on a range of categories, including race, sexual orientation, and culture. State bodies such as the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and the Office of the Public Protector are empowered to investigate and prosecute discrimination cases. Affirmative-action legislation has benefited previously disadvantaged racial groups in public and private employment and in education, but racial imbalances in the workforce persist. White people, constituting a small minority, still own a majority of the country’s business assets. The Khoikhoi and Khomani San peoples suffer from social and legal discrimination.

The constitution guarantees equal rights for women, which are actively promoted by the Commission on Gender Equality. Nevertheless, women are subject to wage discrimination in the workplace and are poorly represented in top management positions. According to the United Association of South Africa, women earn between 23 and 35 percent less than their male counterparts.

While there are no official restrictions on housing, employment, or freedom of movement for most South Africans, travel and some other personal freedoms are inhibited by the country’s high crime rate. For many foreigners, the threat of xenophobic violence impedes freedom of movement as well. The legacy of apartheid continues to segregate the population and restrict nonwhite opportunity for employment and education. Rising crime rates compromise citizens’ safety when traveling.

The state generally protects citizens from arbitrary deprivation of property. However, the incidents of looting in July 2021 suggests that authorities lack the capacity to protect private property from violent responses to tense political moments. The vast majority of farmland remains in the hands of White South Africans, who make up some 9 percent of the population. Illegal squatting on White-owned farms is common, as are attacks on White farm-owners.

In a 2017 party conference, the ANC resolved there was a need to expropriate land without compensation for redistribution purposes, on the condition that such expropriation should not negatively affect the economy or compromise food security. In September 2022, the National Assembly passed the Expropriation Bill, which would enable the expropriation of property with “nil compensation” where it is in the “public interest” to do so. The government contends that the bill, which had not been signed into law before year’s end, does not violate property rights provided in the constitution.

Despite a robust legal framework criminalizing domestic violence and rape, gender-based violence remains a grave challenge in South Africa. The South Africa Police Service (SAPS) reported 12,211 cases of rape from October to December 2023, down slightly from the same period in 2022, and 4,783 arrests for sexual offences. In January 2022, President Ramaphosa enacted numerous legal reforms intended to fight gender-based violence; among other things, provisions in the reforms include introducing “sexual intimidation” as a criminal offense.

Same-sex couples have the same adoption rights as heterosexual married couples, and same-sex marriage is legal.

South Africa’s deteriorating economic position has triggered some politicians to consider limiting the involvement of foreigners in some business sectors. In September 2020, the province of Gauteng published a draft provincial ordinance, the Gauteng Township Economic Development Bill, to curtail foreigners from establishing certain types of businesses.

Inequality levels in South Africa are among the highest in the world. Only a small percentage of the population benefits from large state industries, and the economy is controlled by a relatively small number of people belonging to the political and business elite.

South Africans—predominantly those from rural regions—as well as foreign migrants, are vulnerable to sex trafficking and forced labor. Organized criminal syndicates are responsible for the bulk of trafficking.

In 2023, there was also an increase in illegal mining, with undocumented foreign nationals scavenging disused mining operations. These individuals often die in violent clashes with each other or by encountering toxic underground gasses, and have also terrorized communities near the mines. The army has joined police efforts to curbing illegal mining.