|
South African Term |
Institution/meaning |
Nearest US equivalent (more or less exact depending
on the example) |
|
Parliament
|
National Legislature (primary law-making authority).
Main political institution made up by the National Assembly and the
National Council of Provinces.
|
Congress
|
National Assembly
|
Primary legislative authority, made up of 400
members. They are elected every five years by proportional
representation based on party lists. (Representation is not based in
constituencies, although an unofficial constituency system for
national assembly representatives exists.)
|
House of Representatives
|
National Council of Provinces (NCOP)
|
The NCOP has 90 members elected every five years by
the provisional legislatures. Can support or oppose Bills passed by
the National Assembly in three contexts: 1. if the bill affects
national functions e.g. defense, 2. if the bill affects provinces
and their people, and 3. if a constitutional amendment is being
proposed.
|
Senate
Because NCOP representatives are chosen by the
provincial legislatures, this system is similar to US Senatorial choice
before the 17th Amendment which provided for direct election
of Senators. However, the NCOP has much less power than the US Senate. |
|
President
Current President: Thabo Mbeki |
Head of State, leader of the cabinet, chief of executive
authority and administration of government.
Elected to the National Assembly, from whose rank s/he
is chosen. Usually also head (president) of the majority political
party. |
President
Popular vote mediated by the electoral college. |
|
Deputy President
Current Deputy President: Jacob Zuma |
Assists the president.
(Elected to the National Assembly, from whose rank s/he
is chosen.) |
Vice President |
|
Cabinet |
Composed of the President (head of Cabinet), deputy
president, and ministers.
Government executive, together with the President, and
all Ministers. Much more powerful than the US cabinet. (Deputy ministers
are not part of the cabinet.) |
Cabinet
The SA Cabinet additionally has, however, the
characteristics of a committee made up of chairpersons of Congressional
committees with executive as well as legislative authority and
responsibility. |
|
Speaker |
The Speaker chairs meetings and debates in the National
Assembly, in order to ensure full discussion while parliamentary rules
are maintained. In addition, the Speaker must ensure Parliament is
well-managed and runs well. |
Speaker of the House of Representatives
The US Speaker is probably more partisan a figure. |
|
Ministers |
Heads of government ministries, who are responsible for
implementing legislation and policy. SA ministers are elected to the
National Assembly and then are chosen for a ministerial position by the
winning party. They are part of both the legislative and executive
sections of government. |
Cabinet secretaries and members
Members of the administration (not legislature) who are
appointed rather than elected. |
|
Provinces |
Geographic and political units of regional government.
The provinces are: Gauteng, the Northern Province, the Western Cape, the
Free State, the Northern Cape, Mpulalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape,
the North West Province. |
States
Due to US Federalism, state governments have
considerable power and rights, far more than South African provinces
which have fewer Federal features. |
|
Constitutional Court |
Has the power of judicial review to assess whether laws
violate the Constitution. |
Supreme Court |
|
Premier
The Premiers (and their parties) are:
Gauteng - Mbhazima Shilowa (ANC)
Northern Province - Ngoako Ramatlhodi (ANC)
Western Cape - Gerald Morkel (Democratic Alliance -
former NNP)
Free State - I.W. Direko (ANC)
Northern Cape - Manne Dipico (ANC)
Mpumalanga - Ndaweni Mahlangu (ANC)
KwaZulu - Lionel Mtshali (IFP)
Eastern Cape - Makhenkesi Stofile (ANC)
North West Province - Popo Molefe (ANC)
|
Head of Provincial Government; Executive authority
of the province, together with the provincial Executive Councils.
Elected to the Provincial Legislature and then appointed as Premier
by the majority party.
|
Governor |
|
Executive Council |
Provincial equivalent of the national Cabinet |
State government executive branch |
|
Member of Executive Council (MEC) |
Provincial equivalent of a Minister; heads department
charged with implementing provincial law and policy. |
Similar to the head of a standing committee, but has
executive/implementation functions as well as legislative/bill writing
functions. |
|
Multi-Party democracy
Free and fair elections (every five years, for all
three levels of government, but not simultaneously) predominate,
although violence and other electoral problems exist at points.
The parties (and number of members in parliament)
are:
African National Congress (ANC) 266, Democratic Alliance
68 (38 former Democratic Party + 28 former New National Party +2 Federal
Alliance), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) 34, United Democratic Movement (UDM)
14, African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) 6 Freedom Front (FF) 3,
Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) 3 United Christian Democratic
Party (UCDP) 3 Federal Alliance (FA) 2 Afrikaner Eenheids Beweging (AEB)
1 Azanian People's Organisation (AZAPO) 1 Minority Front (MF) 1
|
South Africa is a multi-party democracy with high levels
of civil liberties and political debate. Nevertheless, in in practice
South Africa is currently "a one party dominant" state because
of the extent of the ruling African National Congress’s electoral
victories and political power. The ANC (social-democratic; center left)
has (almost) two-thirds of the seats in the National Assembly, and is
the majority in seven out of nine provinces, which means electoral
competition is often limited for de facto rather than de jure reasons.
The largest and strongest opposition party is the Democratic Alliance
(center right). The second biggest opposition is the Inkatha Freedom
Party (Zulu nationalist; right). |
(De facto) Two-party democracy (with occasionally
influential third and even fourth parties, which seldom take power). |
