Guide to the 2014 South African Election

This is a complete Guide to the 2014 South African national and provincial elections, which is likely to be held at the end of April 2014. This Guide includes full details on South Africa’s constitutional political structure; an introduction to relevant aspects of South African geography and society; thorough details on race, ethnicity and languages in South Africa; a complete account of South Africa’s political history since 1900; an overview of the last twenty years of multiracial democracy in South Africa; information on all parliamentary parties; an overview of relevant issues in South African politics since 1994 and finally a more detailed look at the major issues in the 2014 election.

This guide is under construction, and it will hopefully be entirely completed before the April 2014 election.

Contents

1. South Africa’s Political System

• The Parliament and the lawmaking process
• The President and the Cabinet
• The Judiciary
• Other governmental institutions
• Provincial government
• Local government
• The Constitution and Bill of Rights

2. Introduction to South Africa

• Geography
• Population and Society
• Economy

3. Race, Ethnicity and Language in South Africa

• Introduction: Race and Language
• Racial inequalities
• Apartheid’s spatial legacy
• Black Africans
• Coloureds
• White South Africans
• Asians and Indians

4. South Africa’s Political History

TBC.