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GEWA · Southern Africa · Country Intelligence

South Africa

Elections · Representation · Candidates
Verified data

Client-supplied 2026 data. Representation figures are published exactly as supplied by the client and are not independently verified. Some submitted percentages differ from the accompanying seat counts; the original values have been retained and inconsistent composition charts are withheld.

Women candidates — selected electionNot availableNo verified figure
Women elected — selected election1772024Source ↗
Quota figuresNot availableNo verified figure
Women MPsNot availableNo verified figure

National & provincial elections · South Africans elect MPs and provincial legislators. The National Assembly elects the President. Constitution §86 ↗

Election evidence and sources
Sources and methodology

South Africa: election and representation evidence

Verified source snapshots as at October 2026. National Assembly membership, election outcomes and municipal candidates use different populations and must not be mixed.

National Assembly - current members

44.9%

178 women / 396 sitting members

IPU October 2026 membership observation; not the 2024 election result.

IPU data source (opens new tab)

2024 National Assembly election

45.0%

177 women / 393 members in the election-specific IPU record

Historical election observation; not today's seated membership.

2024 election source (opens new tab)

2026 local election - certified candidates

37.7%

51,527 women / 136,790 certified municipal candidates

IEC snapshot dated 16 September 2026; not women elected or voter turnout.

IEC candidate source (opens new tab)

Next municipal polling date: 4 November 2026 (officially gazetted). Government notice (opens new tab)

Source and methodology distinctions

The original GEWA client-supplied snapshot gives 181 of 400 (45.3%) without a corresponding independently verified observation date. The 400 figure is statutory chamber capacity, whereas the October 2026 IPU observation uses 396 sitting members. Retain the client snapshot as a separately attributed historical source; do not substitute it for current membership.

South Africa has voluntary political-party gender targets but no statutory national parliamentary seat quota. Municipal candidate percentages are not national parliamentary representation percentages. International IDEA quota reference (opens new tab)

Personal candidate biographies and portraits remain subject to the existing GEWA publication, verification, visibility and consent controls.

Women in representation over time

No dataVerified, comparable records are not available for this visualisation.

Parliament composition

No dataVerified, comparable records are not available for this visualisation.

Candidate register

2024 national & provincial · IEC lists

14,8882024 national, regional and provincial lists
Loading candidates…
CandidatePartyElection / area

Comparative view

No dataVerified, comparable records are not available for this visualisation.
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