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.
Read more about Politics Of South Africa: South African Government, Constitution, President, Political Parties and Their Current Vote Share
Famous quotes containing the words politics, south and/or africa:
“From the beginning, the placement of [Clarence] Thomas on the high court was seen as a political end justifying almost any means. The full story of his confirmation raises questions not only about who lied and why, but, more important, about what happens when politics becomes total war and the truth—and those who tell it—are merely unfortunate sacrifices on the way to winning.”
—Jane Mayer, U.S. journalist, and Jill Abramson b. 1954, U.S. journalist. Strange Justice, p. 8, Houghton Mifflin (1994)
“There are two places in the world where men can most effectively disappear—the city of London and the South Seas.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“For Africa to me ... is more than a glamorous fact. It is a historical truth. No man can know where he is going unless he knows exactly where he has been and exactly how he arrived at his present place.”
—Maya Angelou (b. 1928)