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South Africa

Monthly Event Reports

April 2023 | President Ramaphosa signs law permitting independent candidates to contest elections

On 17 April, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law the Electoral Amendment Act, a piece of legislation that allows independent candidates to contest national and provincial elections. It gives effect to a 2020 Constitutional Court ruling that declared the Electoral Act’s bar on independent candidates to be unconstitutional. The Act also provides for the establishment of an Electoral Reform Consultation Panel to make recommendations on future electoral reform. The law was welcomed by South Africa’s Electoral Commission, which said that it provided the necessary legal certainty to prepare for the 2024 general elections. However, an opposition party and several civil society organisations have declared their intention to challenge the constitutionality of the Electoral Amendment Act in court, alleging that its provisions unfairly disadvantage independent candidates and make it impossible for them to compete equally against candidates from political parties.

November 2022 | Independent panel finds President Ramaphosa may have abused his powers

A report by an independent panel of legal experts commissioned by the National Assembly, has found that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa may have violated the constitution and anti-corruption laws by allegedly covering up the theft of large sums of money from his game farm in a scandal commonly referred to as ‘Farmgate’. Ramaphosa responded to the report (released on 30 November) by denying that he was guilty of any of the allegations made against him. The panel’s findings open up the possibility of impeachment proceedings being brought against the President by the National Assembly, the lower house of South Africa’s parliament, although legislators are not bound by the report. The commencement of such proceedings would require a simple majority in the National Assembly, where the President’s party, the African National Congress, holds 230 out of the 400 seats.  

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GSoD Indices Data 2013-2022

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Basic Information

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Population Tooltip
60 041 996
System of government
Parliamentary system
Head of government
President Cyril Ramaphosa (since 2018)
Head of government party
African National Congress (ANC)
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
List Proportional Representation
Women in lower or single chamber
46.50%
Women in upper chamber
37.0%
Last legislative election
2019
Effective number of political parties Tooltip
2.58
Head of state
President Cyril Ramaphosa
Selection process for head of state
Indirect election (assembly)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
10/05/2017
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
76.95%
Population Tooltip
60 041 996
System of government
Parliamentary system
Head of government
President Cyril Ramaphosa (since 2018)
Head of government party
African National Congress (ANC)
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
List Proportional Representation
Women in lower or single chamber
46.50%
Women in upper chamber
37.0%
Last legislative election
2019
Effective number of political parties Tooltip
2.58
Head of state
President Cyril Ramaphosa
Selection process for head of state
Indirect election (assembly)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
10/05/2017
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
76.95%
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Human Rights Treaties

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State Party State party
Signatory Signatory
No Action No action
United Nations Human Right Treaties
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
State Party
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
State Party
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
State Party
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
State Party
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
State Party
Convention on the Rights of the Child
State Party
International Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
No Action
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 
No Action
International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
State Party
International Labour Organisation Treaties
Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention
State Party
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention
State Party
Equal Remuneration Convention
State Party
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention
State Party
Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment
State Party
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
State Party
Regional Treaties
African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights
State Party
in
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Performance by category over the last 6 months

Representation neutral Representation
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Rights
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Rule of law
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Participation
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024

Global State of Democracy Indices

Hover over the trend lines to see the exact data points across the years

Explore the indices
Representation
Representation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rights
Rights
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rule of Law
Rule of Law
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Participation
Participation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Annual value

Factors of Democratic Performance Over Time

Use the slider below to see how democratic performance has changed over time

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