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Background

The Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa. It borders the Indian and Atlantic oceans to the east and west and Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique to the north. South Africa also surrounds the two independent enclaves of Swaziland and Lesotho. South Africa is an independent democracy and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The South African economy is the largest in Africa and 24th largest in the world. It is also considered the most socially, economically and infrastructurally developed country on the continent.

South Africa received early immigration from Europe owing to the strategic importance of the Cape sea route between Europe and the east. European immigration began in 1652 after the Dutch East India Company founded a ship’s watering station at what is now Cape Town. The country's mineral wealth brought significant western interests, particularly throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

South Africa 47 million population is ethnically diverse and comprises of the largest Caucasian, Indian, and racially mixed communities in Africa. Black South Africans account for slightly less than 80% of the population.

Racial strife between the white minority and the black majority has played a large part in South Africa's history and politics. Apartheid was instituted in 1948 by the white minority lead National Party. After a long struggle, including economic sanctions from the international community, apartheid law was repealed or abolished by the National Party in 1990. Although regular elections have been held in South Africa for almost a century, non white South Africans were only enfranchised in 1994 in South Africa’s first truly democratic election. The 1994 election saw a landslide victory for the African National Congress (ANC) and Nelson Mandela elected as the first black president.

South Africa has a bicameral parliament: the ninety members of the National Council of Provinces or the upper house; and the four hundred members of the National Assembly or the lower house. Members of the lower house are elected on a population basis by proportional representation: half of the members are elected from national lists and half are elected from provincial lists. Ten members are elected to represent each province in the National Council of Provinces, regardless of the population of the province. Elections for both chambers are held every five years. The government is formed in the lower house, and the leader of the majority party in the National Assembly is the President.

Current South African politics are dominated by the African National Congress, which received 69.7% of the vote during the last 2004 general election and 66.3% of the vote in the 2006 municipal election. The current President of South Africa for the term 2004-2009 is Thabo Mbeki, who succeeded former President Nelson Mandela. The main challenger to the ANC's rule is the Democratic Alliance (DA), which received 12.4% of the vote in the 2004 election and 14.8% in the 2006 election. The leader of the Democratic Alliance is Helen Zille elected in May 2007 and taking over the leadership from Tony Leon.

The formerly dominant New National Party, which introduced apartheid through its predecessor, the National Party was merged with the ANC on 9 April 2005. Other major political parties represented in Parliament are the Inkatha Freedom Party, which mainly represents Zulu voters, and the Independent Democrats, who took 6.97% and 1.7% of the vote respectively in the 2004 election.