The African National Congress (ANC) is the Republic of South Africa's governing political party. It has been the ruling party of post-apartheid South Africa since the election of Nelson Mandela in the 1994 election, winning every election since then. Cyril Ramaphosa, the incumbent President of South Africa, has served as leader of the ANC since 18 December 2017.
The Parliament of South Africa is South Africa's legislature; under the present Constitution of South Africa, the bicameral Parliament comprises a National Assembly and a National Council of Provinces. The current twenty-seventh Parliament was first convened on 22 May 2019.
The National Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of South Africa, located in Cape Town, Western Cape Province. It consists of four hundred members who are elected every five years using a party-list proportional representation system where half of the members are elected proportionally from 9 provincial lists and the remaining half from national lists so as to restore proportionality.
Baleka Mbete is a South African politician who served as the Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa from May 2014 to May 2019. She was previously Speaker of the National Assembly from 2004 to 2008, and Deputy President of South Africa from 2008 to 2009 under Kgalema Motlanthe. She was elected National Chairperson of the African National Congress in 2007 and re-elected in 2012 and served until 18 December 2017. On the 18th of December 2017, during the ANC's 54th conference, Gwede Mantashe was elected Mbete's successor as National Chairperson of the ANC.
Lynne Brown is a South African politician who is a former Minister of Public Enterprises and former Premier of the Western Cape Province. She was born in Cape Town and grew up in Mitchell's Plain. She was appointed Premier of the Western Cape following the resignation of Ebrahim Rasool in July 2008. Previously, she was Minister for Economic Development and Tourism. She is a member of the African National Congress and elected member of its National Executive Committee in 2007 and 2012. Like her predecessor Ebrahim Rasool she is also from a coloured background. She is the fourth coloured premier of the Western Cape, and the second from the African National Congress, and is the first openly gay person to be appointed to a cabinet post in any African government.
Tina Joemat-Pettersson is a South African politician and the former Minister of Energy from 25 May 2014 to 31 March 2017. She was previously the Minister of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries from 2009 to 2014.
Elizabeth Dipuo Peters was the Minister of Transport of the Republic of South Africa from 10 July 2013 until 30 March 2017, in the Zuma administration, and former Minister of Energy from 2009 to 2013 having served as successor to Manne Dipico as the second Premier of the Northern Cape Province, 22 April 2004 to 10 May 2009. A member of the African National Congress (ANC), she serves on the Women's League National Executive Committee. Dipuo Peters resigned as a member of parliament for the African National Congress in April 2017.
The flag of South Africa from 1928 to 1994 was originally used by the Union of South Africa from 1928 to 1961 and later the Republic of South Africa until 1994. It was also used in South-West Africa when the territory was under South African rule. Based on the Dutch Prince's Flag, it contained the flag of the United Kingdom, the flag of the Orange Free State and the flag of the South African Republic in the centre. A nickname for the flag was Oranje, Blanje, Blou.
The 2019 South African general election was held on 8 May 2019 to elect a new President, National Assembly and provincial legislatures in each province. These were the sixth elections held since the end of apartheid in 1994 and determined who would become the next President of South Africa.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) announced on 20 March 2019 that a record number of 48 parties had registered candidates for the national parliamentary election. This is 19 more parties that contested the 2014 national elections. In the provincial legislature elections, the total number of parties registering candidates were:
Pemmy Castelina Pamela Majodina is a South African politician serving as a Member of the National Assembly since 2019. A member of the African National Congress, she is the party's chief whip in the assembly. She was formerly a Member of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature between 2004 and 2019 and a Member of the provincial Executive Council for five different portfolios from 2008 to 2019, respectively. Majodina was a permanent delegate to the National Council of Provinces from 1994 to 2004.
Bongiwe Mbinqo-Gigaba is a South African politician. She is the current chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education in the National Assembly of South Africa and a Member of Parliament representing the African National Congress. Prior to serving in parliament, she was a Member of the Executive Council (MEC) in the Northern Cape provincial government.
Alexandra Jennifer Beukes is a South African politician who has been a Member of Parliament in the National Assembly since 12 June 2019. Prior to serving in the National Assembly, she was a Member of the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature and the mayor of the Khâi-Ma Local Municipality. Beukes is a member of the African National Congress.
Lusizo Sharon Makhubela-Mashele is a South African politician and a Member of Parliament (MP) in the National Assembly for the African National Congress.
Bheki Mathews Hadebe is a South African politician from the Western Cape who has been a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa since 2019. Hadebe is a member of the African National Congress.
Mary-Ann Lindelwa Dunjwa is a South African politician from the Eastern Cape. A member of the African National Congress, she was elected to the National Assembly in 2009. After her re-election in 2014, she became the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Health, a position she held until 2019, when she was elected Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Employment and Labour.
Pauline Jeanette Williams is a retired South African politician. A member of the African National Congress, she was elected to the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature in 2004. In 2009, she was appointed as the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Sport, Arts and Culture. She left the legislature in 2014, only for her to return in 2015. She was then made MEC for Transport, Liaison and Safety in 2016. Williams was briefly out of the post in May 2017. In February 2018, she was made the MEC for Environmental Affairs. Williams left the legislature again in 2019.
Xiaomei Havard is a Chinese-born South African businesswoman and politician from Gauteng who currently serves as a Member of Parliament for the African National Congress.
Nqabisa Gantsho is a South African politician from the Eastern Cape who has served as a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa since 2019, representing the African National Congress.
Priscilla Tozama Mantashe was a South African politician from the Eastern Cape. A member of South Africa's governing party, the African National Congress, she served as a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa from 2014 until her death in 2021. She was the sister of Gwede Mantashe, the ANC's national chairperson and the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy.
