2004 South African general election

2004 South African general election
← outgoing members elected members →
All 400 seats in the National Assembly ; 201 seats needed for a majority
Registered	20,674,926
Turnout	76.70% ( 12.60pp)
President before election; Thabo Mbeki ; ANC	Elected President; Thabo Mbeki ; ANC

Last updated April 29, 2025

General elections were held in South Africa on Wednesday, 14 April 2004.^[1] The African National Congress (ANC) of President Thabo Mbeki, which came to power after the end of the apartheid system in 1994, was re-elected with an increased majority.

These were the third elections held since the end of the apartheid era. The South African National Assembly consists of 400 members, elected by proportional representation.^[2] 200 members are elected from national party lists, the other 200 are elected from party lists in each of the nine provinces. The President of South Africa is chosen by the National Assembly after each election.

The ANC, which had been in power since 1994, obtained 69.7% of votes cast on the national ballot, theoretically allowing them to change the constitution.

Some 20.6-million people were registered for the 2004 general elections, which was about 2 million more than in 1999.^[3] About 76% of registered voters took part in the election, with the ANC receiving 69.7% of the votes cast. However, only 56% of eligible voters (South African citizens of voting age) took part in the 2004 election, which means that the ANC received votes from only about 38% of all eligible voters.^[4]^[5]

The year 2004 saw an increase in voter abstention and there was at least one high-profile election and registration boycotts campaign, the No Land! No House! No Vote! Campaign.^[6]^[7] A major electoral issue during the election was the dominance of the ANC; detractors of the ANC, most notably the Democratic Alliance, argued that the party's political dominance posed a threat to the country's democratic institutions and that voters should therefore vote for opposition parties.^[8]

The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, also obtained an increased percentage on the national ballot, most likely from former supporters of the New National Party (NNP), possibly losing some support to Patricia de Lille's new Independent Democrats. The NNP, a descendant of the ruling party of the apartheid era, collapsed and lost most of their support, dropping from 6.9% in 1999 to 1.7% (it was 20.4% in 1994), many of their supporters being unhappy with their alliance with the ANC. The NNP alliance with the ANC allowed the ANC gain control of the Western Cape and City of Cape Town; following the election the NNP elected to dissolve and merge with the ANC.^[9]

The Independent Democrats surprised many observers by obtaining more votes than the New National Party, becoming the fifth largest party. The Inkatha Freedom Party lost some support, including the majority in their stronghold province of Kwazulu-Natal, while the United Democratic Movement also lost support, barely hanging on as opposition in their stronghold, the Eastern Cape. As of 2024 this is the last election in which the ANC made gains in both seats and popular vote.

Events

A corruption scandal dubbed " Oilgate " by the South African media surfaced when it was reported that R11 million was transferred from the state owned PetroSA to help fund the African National Congress' election campaign.^[10]^[11] Following the election the Mail and Guardian newspaper was controversially gagged from publishing a report on the Oilgate scandal.^[12]

National Assembly results



Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	African National Congress	10,880,915	69.69	279	+13
	Democratic Alliance	1,931,201	12.37	50	+12
	Inkatha Freedom Party	1,088,664	6.97	28	−6
	United Democratic Movement	355,717	2.28	9	−5
	Independent Democrats	269,765	1.73	7	New
	New National Party	257,824	1.65	7	−21
	African Christian Democratic Party	250,272	1.60	7	+1
	Freedom Front Plus	139,465	0.89	4	+1
	United Christian Democratic Party	117,792	0.75	3	0
	Pan Africanist Congress	113,512	0.73	3	0
	Minority Front	55,267	0.35	2	+1
	Azanian People's Organisation	39,116	0.25	1	0
	Christian Democratic Party	17,619	0.11	0	New
	National Action	15,804	0.10	0	New
	Peace and Justice Congress	15,187	0.10	0	New
	Socialist Party of Azania	14,853	0.10	0	0
	New Labour Party	13,318	0.09	0	New
	United Front	11,889	0.08	0	New
	Employment Movement for South Africa	10,446	0.07	0	New
	The Organisation Party	7,531	0.05	0	New
	Keep It Straight and Simple Party	6,514	0.04	0	0
Total		15,612,671	100.00	400	0

Valid votes		15,612,671	98.42
Invalid/blank votes		250,887	1.58
Total votes		15,863,558	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		20,674,926	76.73
Source: Election Resources

Contested seat

When the official results were released, the ACDP successfully challenged the outcome. As a result, one of the two seats AZAPO won initially was handed over to the ACDP.^[13]

Provincial legislature results

Elections for the nine provincial parliaments were held at the same time as for the National Assembly.

Party		EC	FS	G	KZN	L	M	NW	NC	WC
	African National Congress	51	25	51	38	45	27	27	21	19
	Democratic Alliance	5	3	15	7	2	2	2	3	12
	Inkatha Freedom Party			2	30
	United Democratic Movement	6		1	1	1				1
	African Christian Democratic Party		1	1	2	1			1	2
	New National Party								2	5
	Independent Democrats			1					2	3
	Freedom Front Plus		1	1			1	1	1
	United Christian Democratic Party							3
	Pan Africanist Congress	1		1
	Minority Front				2
Total		63	30	73	80	49	30	33	30	42

Eastern Cape


Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	African National Congress	1,768,987	79.27	51	+4
	United Democratic Movement	205,993	9.23	6	−3
	Democratic Alliance	163,785	7.34	5	+1
	Pan Africanist Congress	22,324	1.00	1	0
	African Christian Democratic Party	17,372	0.78	0	0
	Independent Democrats	17,314	0.78	0	New
	New National Party	14,084	0.63	0	−2
	Freedom Front Plus	5,692	0.26	0	0
	Inkatha Freedom Party	4,373	0.20	0	0
	Azanian People's Organisation	3,884	0.17	0	New
	Socialist Party of Azania	3,356	0.15	0	New
	United Christian Democratic Party	2,707	0.12	0	New
	National Action	1,672	0.07	0	New
Total		2,231,543	100.00	63	0

Valid votes		2,231,543	98.75
Invalid/blank votes		28,360	1.25
Total votes		2,259,903	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		2,849,486	79.31
Source: Election Resources

Free State


Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	African National Congress	827,338	81.78	25	0
	Democratic Alliance	85,714	8.47	3	+1
	Freedom Front Plus	24,946	2.47	1	0
	African Christian Democratic Party	13,119	1.30	1	+1
	Pan Africanist Congress	11,969	1.18	0	0
	Dikwankwetla Party	9,806	0.97	0	New
	United Democratic Movement	8,947	0.88	0	0
	New National Party	8,295	0.82	0	−2
	United Christian Democratic Party	7,825	0.77	0	0
	Independent Democrats	5,289	0.52	0	New
	Azanian People's Organisation	3,571	0.35	0	New
	Inkatha Freedom Party	3,563	0.35	0	0
	National Action	1,224	0.12	0	New
Total		1,011,606	100.00	30	0

Valid votes		1,011,606	98.46
Invalid/blank votes		15,795	1.54
Total votes		1,027,401	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		1,321,195	77.76
Source: Election Resources

Gauteng


Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	African National Congress	2,331,121	68.40	51	+1
	Democratic Alliance	708,081	20.78	15	+2
	Inkatha Freedom Party	85,500	2.51	2	−1
	African Christian Democratic Party	55,991	1.64	1	0
	Independent Democrats	51,921	1.52	1	New
	Freedom Front Plus	45,648	1.34	1	0
	United Democratic Movement	33,644	0.99	1	0
	Pan Africanist Congress	29,076	0.85	1	+1
	New National Party	25,992	0.76	0	−3
	United Christian Democratic Party	8,857	0.26	0	0
	Azanian People's Organisation	8,670	0.25	0	0
	Christian Democratic Party	7,773	0.23	0	New
	National Action	4,712	0.14	0	New
	Peace and Justice Congress	3,208	0.09	0	New
	Socialist Party of Azania	3,191	0.09	0	0
	Economic Freedom Movement	1,862	0.05	0	New
	Pro-Death Penalty Party	1,825	0.05	0	New
	Black People's Convention	1,236	0.04	0	New
Total		3,408,308	100.00	73	0

Valid votes		3,408,308	98.73
Invalid/blank votes		43,917	1.27
Total votes		3,452,225	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		4,650,594	74.23
Source: Election Resources

KwaZulu-Natal


Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	African National Congress	1,287,823	46.98	38	+6
	Inkatha Freedom Party	1,009,267	36.82	30	−4
	Democratic Alliance	228,857	8.35	7	+1
	Minority Front	71,540	2.61	2	0
	African Christian Democratic Party	48,892	1.78	2	+1
	United Democratic Movement	20,546	0.75	1	0
	New National Party	14,218	0.52	0	−3
	Independent Democrats	13,556	0.49	0	New
	Freedom Front Plus	7,764	0.28	0	0
	Azanian People's Organisation	7,061	0.26	0	0
	Pan Africanist Congress	5,118	0.19	0	0
	Socialist Party of Azania	5,023	0.18	0	0
	Christian Democratic Party	4,980	0.18	0	New
	Izwi Lethu Party	4,858	0.18	0	New
	United Christian Democratic Party	3,921	0.14	0	New
	Peace and Development Party	3,154	0.12	0	New
	Royal Loyal Progress	3,141	0.11	0	New
	Independent African Movement	1,546	0.06	0	New
Total		2,741,265	100.00	80	0

Valid votes		2,741,265	98.52
Invalid/blank votes		41,300	1.48
Total votes		2,782,565	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		3,819,864	72.84
Source: Election Resources

Limpopo


Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	African National Congress	1,439,853	89.18	45	+1
	Democratic Alliance	57,930	3.59	2	+1
	United Democratic Movement	27,780	1.72	1	0
	African Christian Democratic Party	20,418	1.26	1	0
	Pan Africanist Congress of Azania	15,222	0.94	0	−1
	Alliance for Democracy and Prosperity	9,933	0.62	0	New
	Freedom Front Plus	9,724	0.60	0	0
	Ximoko Party	9,587	0.59	0	0
	Azanian People's Organisation	8,204	0.51	0	0
	New National Party	7,443	0.46	0	−1
	United Christian Democratic Party	3,477	0.22	0	New
	Independent Democrats	2,730	0.17	0	New
	National Action	2,213	0.14	0	New
Total		1,614,514	100.00	49	0

Valid votes		1,614,514	98.66
Invalid/blank votes		21,947	1.34
Total votes		1,636,461	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		2,187,912	74.80
Source: Election Resources

Mpumalanga


Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	African National Congress	959,436	86.30	27	+1
	Democratic Alliance	77,119	6.94	2	+1
	Freedom Front Plus	13,732	1.24	1	0
	African Christian Democratic Party	12,065	1.09	0	0
	United Democratic Movement	11,161	1.00	0	−1
	Inkatha Freedom Party	10,643	0.96	0	0
	Pan Africanist Congress	7,668	0.69	0	0
	Sindawonye Progressive Party	5,925	0.53	0	0
	New National Party	5,122	0.46	0	−1
	Independent Democrats	3,406	0.31	0	New
	Azanian People's Organisation	2,113	0.19	0	0
	United Christian Democratic Party	1,878	0.17	0	0
	Socialist Party of Azania	1,424	0.13	0	New
Total		1,111,692	100.00	30	0

Valid votes		1,111,692	98.42
Invalid/blank votes		17,792	1.58
Total votes		1,129,484	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		1,442,472	78.30
Source: Election Resources

North West


Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	African National Congress	1,048,089	80.71	27	0
	United Christian Democratic Party	110,233	8.49	3	0
	Democratic Alliance	64,925	5.00	2	+1
	Freedom Front Plus	17,123	1.32	1	0
	African Christian Democratic Party	15,138	1.17	0	0
	United Democratic Movement	12,513	0.96	0	0
	Pan Africanist Congress	10,923	0.84	0	0
	Independent Democrats	5,709	0.44	0	New
	New National Party	5,592	0.43	0	−1
	Azanian People's Organisation	3,718	0.29	0	New
	Inkatha Freedom Party	3,211	0.25	0	0
	National Action	1,389	0.11	0	New
Total		1,298,563	100.00	33	0

Valid votes		1,298,563	98.24
Invalid/blank votes		23,224	1.76
Total votes		1,321,787	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		1,749,529	75.55
Source: Election Resources

Northern Cape


Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	African National Congress	219,365	68.83	21	+1
	Democratic Alliance	35,297	11.08	3	+2
	New National Party	23,970	7.52	2	−6
	Independent Democrats	22,485	7.06	2	New
	African Christian Democratic Party	5,995	1.88	1	+1
	Freedom Front Plus	4,948	1.55	1	0
	Azanian People's Organisation	1,645	0.52	0	0
	United Democratic Movement	1,431	0.45	0	0
	Pan Africanist Congress	1,381	0.43	0	0
	United Christian Democratic Party	1,042	0.33	0	New
	Inkatha Freedom Party	751	0.24	0	0
	Cape People's Congress	392	0.12	0	New
Total		318,702	100.00	30	0

Valid votes		318,702	98.40
Invalid/blank votes		5,192	1.60
Total votes		323,894	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		433,591	74.70
Source: Election Resources

Western Cape


Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	African National Congress	709,052	45.25	19	+1
	Democratic Alliance	424,832	27.11	12	+7
	New National Party	170,469	10.88	5	−12
	Independent Democrats	122,867	7.84	3	New
	African Christian Democratic Party	53,934	3.44	2	+1
	United Democratic Movement	27,489	1.75	1	0
	Africa Muslim Party	11,019	0.70	0	New
	New Labour Party	10,526	0.67	0	New
	Freedom Front Plus	9,705	0.62	0	0
	Pan Africanist Congress	6,524	0.42	0	0
	United Christian Democratic Party	3,575	0.23	0	New
	Green Party of South Africa	3,317	0.21	0	New
	Peace and Justice Congress	3,278	0.21	0	New
	National Action	2,248	0.14	0	New
	Inkatha Freedom Party	2,222	0.14	0	0
	Cape People's Congress	1,960	0.13	0	New
	Azanian People's Organisation	1,455	0.09	0	New
	Moderate Independent Party	953	0.06	0	New
	Peace and Development Party	789	0.05	0	New
	Universal Party	735	0.05	0	New
Total		1,566,949	100.00	42	0

Valid votes		1,566,949	99.02
Invalid/blank votes		15,554	0.98
Total votes		1,582,503	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		2,220,283	71.27
Source: Election Resources

NCOP seats

The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) consists of 90 members, ten elected by each provincial legislature. The Members of NCOP have to be elected in proportion to the party membership of the provincial legislature.

Determination of delegates to the National Council of Provinces after the 14 April 2004 provincial elections^[14]
Party		Delegate type	EC	FS	G	KZN	L	M	NW	NC	WC	Total
	ANC	Permanent	4	4	4	3	5	5	4	4	2	35	65
	ANC	Special	4	4	3	2	4	4	4	3	2	30	65
	DA	Permanent	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	10	12
	DA	Special			1						1	2	12
	IFP	Permanent			1	2						3	5
	IFP	Special				2						2	5
	ID	Permanent									1	1	2
	ID	Special								1		1	2
	NNP	Permanent								1	1	2
	ACDP	Special									1	1
	VF+	Permanent		1								1
	UCDP	Permanent							1			1
	UDM	Permanent	1									1
Total			10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	90

Notes to the tables

↑ As Democratic Party.

References

↑ "Election Resources on the Internet: Republic of South Africa 2004 General Election". Election Resources on the Internet. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
↑ "How Parliament is Constructed". Parliament of the Republic of South Africa. Archived from the original on 24 March 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 February 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
↑ McKinley, Dale T. (29 April 2004). "South Africa: A disillusioned democracy". Green Left Weekly. Archived from the original on 18 September 2006. Retrieved 21 September 2006.
↑ "ANC wins South African elections in low voter turnout". wsws.org. 17 April 2004.
↑ "The 'No Land, No House, No Vote' campaign still on for 2009". Abahlali baseMjondolo. 5 May 2005.
↑ "IndyMedia Presents: No Land! No House! No Vote!". Anti-Eviction Campaign. 12 December 2005. Archived from the original on 25 April 2009.
↑ Southall, Roger (2005). "The 'dominant party debate' in South Africa" (PDF). Afrika Spectrum. 39: 61–82.
↑ Alence, Rod. "South Africa After Apartheid: The First Decade". Journal of Democracy. p. 82. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
↑ "PetroSA still hurting after Oilgate taint". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
↑ "South Africa to investigate 'Oilgate' scandal". gulfnews.com. 4 June 2005. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
↑ "Court gag on South Africa 'oilgate' report". the Guardian. 27 May 2005. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
↑ "ACDP awarded an extra seat in parliament". IOL. 1 June 2004.
↑ John Kane-Berman; et al. (2004). South Africa Survey 2003/04. South African Institute of Race Relations. p. 462. ISBN 9780869824764.

External links

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[1] As Democratic Party.

[2] "Election Resources on the Internet: Republic of South Africa 2004 General Election". Election Resources on the Internet. Retrieved 16 August 2019.

[3] "How Parliament is Constructed". Parliament of the Republic of South Africa. Archived from the original on 24 March 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.

[4] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 February 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[5] McKinley, Dale T. (29 April 2004). "South Africa: A disillusioned democracy". Green Left Weekly. Archived from the original on 18 September 2006. Retrieved 21 September 2006.

[6] "ANC wins South African elections in low voter turnout". wsws.org. 17 April 2004.

[7] "The 'No Land, No House, No Vote' campaign still on for 2009". Abahlali baseMjondolo. 5 May 2005.

[8] "IndyMedia Presents: No Land! No House! No Vote!". Anti-Eviction Campaign. 12 December 2005. Archived from the original on 25 April 2009.

[9] Southall, Roger (2005). "The 'dominant party debate' in South Africa" (PDF). Afrika Spectrum. 39: 61–82.

[10] Alence, Rod. "South Africa After Apartheid: The First Decade". Journal of Democracy. p. 82. Retrieved 26 February 2022.

[11] "PetroSA still hurting after Oilgate taint". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 26 February 2022.

[12] "South Africa to investigate 'Oilgate' scandal". gulfnews.com. 4 June 2005. Retrieved 26 February 2022.

[13] "Court gag on South Africa 'oilgate' report". the Guardian. 27 May 2005. Retrieved 26 February 2022.

[14] "ACDP awarded an extra seat in parliament". IOL. 1 June 2004.

[sas-04-ncop-15] John Kane-Berman; et al. (2004). South Africa Survey 2003/04. South African Institute of Race Relations. p. 462. ISBN 9780869824764.

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v t e Elections and referendums in South Africa
General elections	1910 1915 1920 1921 1924 1929 1933 1938 1943 1948 1953 1958 1961 1966 1970 1974 1977 1981 1984 1987 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 2019 2024
Provincial elections	1910 1917 1935 1936 1943 1949 1954 1959 1965 1970 1974 1981 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 2019 2024
Municipal elections	1995–96 2000 2006 2011 2016 2021
Referendums	1960 1983 1992
See also: Elections and referendums in the Boer republics and South African colonies Elections and referendums in South African Bantustans