April 2009 South Africa's general elections

South Africans go to the polls on 22 April in the fourth national and provincial elections since the end of apartheid in 1994. The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) reports that more than 23 million people, including 16,000 of the South African diaspora, have registered to vote in what is being billed as the biggest election in the country's history. How do the elections work? The country has a bicameral parliament consisting of the National Assembly with 400 seats and the National Council of Provinces with 90 seats. Election to the National Assembly is based on proportional representation with half of the seats filled from regional party lists and the other half from national party lists. The lists are "closed" with voters casting a ballot for a single list, not individual candidates. Following the general elections, the National Assembly will elect the country's next president. What is different about this election? The advent of the Congress of the People (Cope) has reenergized South Africa's electoral landscape and placed the African National Congress's two-thirds majority in jeopardy for the first time since 1994. According to the privately-owned press, the formation of ANC breakaway Cope has acted as a strong catalyst in galvanising voters. Cope is reported to have struggled to launch an effective election campaign and maintain party unity, but surveys nonetheless suggest the party may gain up to 10% of the vote. What are the issues? Promises to fight corruption, poverty, crime and unemployment are the key planks of the main opposition parties' election campaigns. But pledges to reinstate the Scorpions, an elite crime-fighting force recently disbanded by parliament after accusations it tried to smear ANC leader Jacob Zuma with a corruption investigation, is also high on their lists. Other issues include the freedom of the press and judiciary. The ANC government is also promising to do more about tackling poverty and crime and has announced plans to speed up its land reform programme, while reassuring white farmers that it will not forcibly seize their land. Who are the main parties? The IEC says 156 political parties have registered ahead of the polls, 117 of them at national level and 39 at provincial level only. The most important parties are: African National Congress (ANC) The ANC is currently South Africa's ruling party and occupies 297 seats in parliament. It was founded in 1912 as an organisation that catered to black interests and has a membership of 621,000. The party's leader, Jacob Zuma, has recently and controversially had corruption charges against him dropped. Congress of the People (Cope) A breakaway from the ANC party, Cope was founded in November 2008 by former Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota and former Gauteng Province Premier Mbhazima Shilowa in response to "threats to constitutional order emerging from the ANC". Its presidential candidate is Rev Mvume Dandala. Democratic Alliance (DA) The DA was formed in 2000 when the Democratic Party and New National Party merged and has grown to become the strongest opposition party with 47 National Assembly members. Its leader is Helen Zille. The DA has filed a legal challenge against the dropping of corruption charges against Mr Zuma. Independent Democrats (ID) The ID was founded by Patricia de Lille in 2003 and has a populist, anti-corruption platform. It is the first political party in South Africa to be led by a woman and has eight seats in parliament. The bulk of its support is in Western Cape Province. Registered Voters by Province Abroad - 16,240 Eastern Cape - 3,038,478 Free State - 1,384,177 Gauteng - 5,448,121 KwaZulu-Natal - 4,455,983 Limpopo - 2,248,044 Mpumalanga - 1, 690,034 Northern Cape - 553,645 North West - 1,653,234 Western Cape - 2, 682,506 Total - 23,170,462 Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) The IFP was founded in 1975 by Mangosuthu Buthelezi, but only became a political party in 1990. It draws its support largely from the rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal and the migrant workers' hostels in the metropolitan areas of Gauteng. It currently holds 23 seats in the National Assembly. United Democratic Movement (UDM) Retired Maj Gen H Bantubonke (Bantu) Holomisa co-founded the UDM in 1997 and currently serves as its president. In 2004, nine members of this social-democratic party were elected to parliament. Have there been campaign violations? The IFP, DA, UDM and Cope have all accused the ANC of buying votes with government food parcels - a charge the party emphatically denies. In the Zulu heartland of KwaZulu-Natal, the ANC and IFP have been swapping allegations about interference with electioneering, intimidation of party workers and assaults. In an effort to avoid violence, the government has deployed 23,000 police and soldiers to likely flashpoints. And in Johannesburg, the ANC has called on the "mischievous forces of darkness" to stop putting up fake ANC posters. BBC Monitoring selects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaux abroad.