South Africa is a vibrant democratic African state marked with several influential political parties. The country enjoys robust governance from various party leaders that jointly comprise a government. If you thought ANC, EFF, and DA are the only political parties in South Africa, wait until we unveil a complete list.
The ending of the minority rule in 1994 brought on board several political parties in South Africa, each of which holds a unique set of approaches and policies. While the African National Congress in a central party of power, there are several other political parties that are competitively active in the scene. For this reason, South African politics is highly competitive, and therefore, it is a common experience for legislative seats to attract several party candidates alongside independent contestors.
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Political parties in South Africa 2019
Which political party won 2019 elections? South Africa recently welcomed its 6th post-Apartheid general election earlier this year. The majority rule led by ANC continues to cast a broad shadow on other potential South African political parties that are yet to garner sufficient publicity.
List of political parties in South Africa
The African National Congress has remained a good political party for decades, but Democratic Alliance and Economic Freedom Fighters are upcoming speedily as their fame continues to spread. The national politics remain even more unpredictable as more parties continue to spring up on political reforms amid the ongoing debates. Besides the national party South Africa, our list comprises all other political parties you may not have come across before.
Parties with Parliamentary representation
Parties without Parliamentary representation
Parties that are no longer exist
- 1910–1958: Labour Party
- 1911–1934: South African Party (SAP)
- 1915–1997: National Party (NP) -was government 1948-1994)
- 1934–1948: Dominion Party
- 1934–1977: United Party (UP)
- 1941–1951: Afrikaner Party (AP)
- 1953–1968: Liberal Party of South Africa
- 1957–1975: Progressive Party
- 1969–1994: Labour Party
- 1973–1977: Democratic Party (DP)
- 1975–1975: Reform Party
- 1975–1977: Progressive Reform Party
- 1977–1980: South African Party (SAP)
- 1977–1988: New Republic Party
- 1977–1989: Progressive Federal Party (PFP)
- 1982–2004: Conservative Party (CP)
- 1989–2000: Democratic Party (DP)
- 1994– : Federal Party
- 1997–2005: New National Party (NNP)
- 1998–2007: Federal Alliance
- 2003-2004: Nasionale Aksie
- 2003–2014: Independent Democrats (ID)
- 2004–2009: New Labour Party (NLP)
- 2004- : Pro-death Penalty Party
- 2005–2010: United Independent Front
- 2005– : Christen Party/Christian Party:
- 2005– : Federation of Democrats
- 2008–2011: South African Democratic Congress (Sadeco)
- 2012: South African Business Party
- 2009: Christian Democratic Alliance:
- 2014: Christian Front (CF)
- 2014: Universal Party
- National Alliance
- Democratic Left Front
- Khoisan Aboriginal and Others Movement
How many political parties in South Africa?
There are close to one hundred political parties in South Africa some of which managed to secure parliamentary representation in the recently concluded general election. Some of these 94 political parties failed to secure seats but are still running and active in South African politics. Among the most active are Christian political parties in South Africa; they are ACA, CDP, and ACDP (which has four parliamentary seats). It is also notable that most parties that were founded during the minority rule are now defunct.
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South Africa is a mature democratic nation marked with multiple political alliances. The current government regime comprises fair representation from 14 of these political parties in South Africa. These parties are dependently struggling to make the country more habitable with unique leadership approaches, all with the intention of bettering the lives of the citizens.
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