Next South African general election
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By 2029
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The next South African general election will be held by 2029 to elect a new National Assembly as well as the provincial legislature in each province of South Africa. They will be the eighth elections held under the conditions of universal adult suffrage since the end of the apartheid era in 1994.
Date
[edit]The South African Constitution mandates that national and provincial general elections must be held at least once every five years. Specifically, the elections must take place within 90 days of the date the National Assembly's five-year term expires or is dissolved. The most recent general election was held on 29 May 2024. This means the next general election for the National Assembly and provincial legislatures is constitutionally due to occur by mid-2029.[1]
Electoral system
[edit]The electoral system used in the 2029 election is expected to change based on the recommendations of the Electoral Reform Consultation Panel.[2] The Electoral Reform Consultation Panel established by Parliament recommended reducing the size of the current provincial constituencies into smaller multi-member, or single-member constituencies to bring representatives closer to voters while maintaining a compensatory list to ensure overall proportionality of results.[3]
Opinion polls
[edit]
| Polling Organisation | Fieldwork Date | Sample Size |
Margin of Error | ANC | DA | MK | EFF | IFP | PA | ASA | Others | Don't Know[a] |
Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ipsos[4] | December 2025 - January 2026 | 3,600 | 1.9% | 33% | 22% | 10% | 11% | 2% | 2% | N/a | 10% | 12% | 11 |
| Social Research Foundation[5] | June 2025 | 1,004 | 4% | 40% | 26% | 18% | 3% | 3% | 3% | N/a | N/a | N/a | 14 |
| IRR[6] | March - April 2025 | 807 | ~4% | 29.7% | 30.3% | 15.9% | 10.2% | 1.7% | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a | 0.6 |
| Social Research Foundation[5] | February 2025 | 1,004 | 4% | 32% | 25% | 12% | 6% | 3% | 3% | N/a | N/a | N/a | 7 |
| The Brenthurst Foundation[7] | February - March 2025 | 3,837 | 2% | 43% | 27% | 11% | 7% | 2% | 3% | 2% | 5% | N/a | 16 |
| IRR[6] | September - October 2024 | N/a | N/a | 41.3% | 22.3% | 11.6% | 6.9% | 5.5% | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a | 19 |
| Social Research Foundation[5] | September 2024 | 1,204 | 3% | 45% | 24% | 12% | 6% | 5% | 5% | N/a | N/a | N/a | 21 |
| 2024 general election | 29 May 2024 | 40.1% | 21.8% | 14.5% | 9.5% | 3.8% | 2% | 1.2% | 18.3 |
Notes
[edit]- ↑ Includes abstention and no answer responses
References
[edit]- ↑ "Elections | South African Government". www.gov.za. Retrieved 2025-11-02.
- ↑ Electoral Reform Consultation Panel. "Electoral Reform Consultation Panel Final Report" (PDF).
- ↑ Electoral Reform Consultation Panel. "Electoral Reform Consultation Panel Final Report" (PDF).
- ↑ "Nearly half of South Africans feel politically homeless ahead of local elections". Ipsos. 26 March 2026. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
- 1 2 3 "South Africa's Biggest Political Party Regains Ground, Poll finds". Bloomberg.
- 1 2 Pretorius, Hermann (April 2025). "Pro-Growth or Pro-Poverty: Findings of IRR Polling April 2025" (PDF). South African Institute of Race Relations.
- ↑ Ray Hartley, Greg Mills (4 April 2025). "Most South Africans Approve of GNU, New Survey Shows". The Brenthurst Foundation. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
