National Assembly of South Africa - History

History

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The National Assembly was first elected in South Africa's first non-racial election in 1994 with the African National Congress (ANC) winning 252 of the 400 seats. The National Party (NP), the previous governing party, won 82 seats, and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) won 43. Under the terms of the Interim Constitution this result entitled the NP and the IFP to take part in the Government of National Unity alongside the ANC, and gave the ANC and NP the right to each nominated one Deputy President. The other parties represented in the assembly were the Freedom Front (9 seats), the Democratic Party (7 seats), the Pan Africanist Congress (5 seats), and the African Christian Democratic Party (2 seats).

In the election of 1999, the ANC won 266 seats, one short of the two-thirds majority needed to unilaterally amend the constitution. The DP expanded its representation to become the official opposition with 38 seats, while the IFP won 34. The NP, now renamed the New National Party (NNP), dropped to 28 seats, and the newly-formed United Democratic Movement (UDM) won 14. Eight smaller parties also obtained seats in the assembly.

In the election of 2004 the ANC obtained 279 seats, gaining a two-thirds majority and the ability to change the constitution. The DP became the Democratic Alliance (DA) and remained the official opposition with 50 seats, while the IFP won 28 seats. The NNP was severely weakened, obtaining only 7 seats; the party was formally disbanded in 2005 with the majority of the party joining the ANC.

In the election 2009 the ANC lost its two-thirds majority but remained the majority party with 264 seats. The DA increased its support to 67 seats, and the new Congress of the People (COPE) party, a breakaway from the ANC, obtained 30 seats. The IFP was reduced to 18 seats.

The following table shows the party composition of the National Assembly over time.

Event Date ANC DP / DA NP / NNP COPE IFP VF / VF+ UDM ACDP ID Others
1994 election 27 April 1994 252 7 82 — 43 9 — 2 — 5
1999 election 2 June 1999 266 38 28 — 34 14 6 3 — 11
2003 floor-crossing 4 April 2003 275 46 20 — 31 3 4 7 1 13
2004 election 14 April 2004 279 50 7 — 28 4 9 7 7 9
2005 floor-crossing 15 September 2005 293 47 — — 23 4 6 4 5 18
2007 floor-crossing 15 September 2007 297 47 — — 23 4 6 4 4 15
2009 election 22 April 2009 264 67 — 30 18 4 4 3 4 6

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