This is a list of political parties in South Africa. For most of its recent history,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

has functioned as a democratic state but with a one-party dominant system, with the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...

(ANC) as the governing party. as a result the country has been governed by a ten-member coalition called the

Government of National Unity A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nati ...

consisting of the ANC, Democratic Alliance (DA),

Patriotic Alliance The Patriotic Alliance (PA) is a right-wing political party in South Africa, formed in November 2013 by, among others, businessmen and convicted criminals Gayton McKenzie and Kenny Kunene. Since 2024, it is a part of the current South African ...

Inkatha Freedom Party The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP; ) is a conservative political party in South Africa, which is a part of the current South African Third Cabinet of Cyril Ramaphosa, government of national unity together with the African National Congress (ANC). A ...

Good In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil. The specific meaning and etymology of the term and its ...

Pan Africanist Congress of Azania The Pan Africanist Congress of Azania, often shortened to the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), is a South African pan-Africanist national liberation movement that is now a political party. It was founded by an Africanist group, led by Robert S ...

Freedom Front Plus The Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus or FF+; , ''VF Plus'') is a right-wing political party in South Africa that was formed (as the Freedom Front) in 1994. It is led by Corné Mulder. Since 2024, it is a part of the current South African Third Cabin ...

United Democratic Movement The United Democratic Movement (UDM) is a centre-left, social-democratic, South African political party, formed by a prominent former National Party leader, Roelf Meyer (who has since resigned from the UDM), a former African National Congre ...

, Al Jama-ah, and

Rise Mzansi Rise Mzansi (RISE) is a South African political party founded in April 2023. It is led by Songezo Zibi, a former newspaper editor and co-founder of the ''Rivonia Circle'' think tank. The party characterises their ideology as social democratic bu ...

. The DA governs the

Western Cape Province The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabi ...

and a number of

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

, some in coalitions with smaller parties.

Parliamentary parties

Other parties with representation

Extra-parliamentary parties

* #Hope4SA * Africa Muslim Party (AMP) * African Change Academy * African Christian Alliance (ACA) * African Congress for Transformation *

African Content Movement The African Content Movement (ACM) is a South African political party founded in December 2018 by former SABC acting COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng. History At the party launch, Motsoeneng claimed he would become president, that the country would pr ...

(ACM) * African Covenant (ACO) * African Mantungwa Community (AC) * African Renaissance Unity (ARU) * African Security Congress (ASC) * Afrikaner Volksparty * Agang South Africa * All Things Are Possible * Alliance for Transformation for All (ATA) * Alliance of Citizens for Change (ACC) * Arise SA * Afrikaner Resistance Movement (AWB) * Black First Land First (BLF) *

Cape Muslim Congress The Cape Muslim Congress is a Politics of South Africa, South African Islam in South Africa, Muslim political party active in Cape Town and led by founder Yagyah Adams. It won a single seat in the City of Cape Town in 2011, and again in 2016, t ...

(CMC) * Capitalist Party of South Africa (ZACP) * Change Starts Now (CSN) * Christian Democratic Party (CDP) * Civic Warriors of Maruleng (CWM) * Compatriots of South Africa (CSA) * Dabalorivhuwa Patriotic Front (DPF) * Dagga Party (IQELA LE) *

Democratic Independent Party Democratic Independent Party (DIP; ) was a centrist political party in North and South Korea. The party was established on 19 October 1947. Its initiators were An Jae-hong, , Hong Myong-hui, Kim Ho, Pak Yong-hee, Yi Kuk-no and Kim Won-yo ...

(DI) *

Dikwankwetla Party Dikwankwetla Party of South Africa is a political party in the Free State (South African province), Free State province, South Africa. The party was founded by Kenneth Mopeli in 1975. The party governed the bantustan state of QwaQwa from 1975 t ...

(DPSA) * Economic Emancipation Forum (EEF) * ECOPEACE Party (ECOPEACE) * Federal Party SA (FPSA) * Free Democrats (FREE DEM) * Gazankulu Liberation Congress (GLC) * Green Party of South Africa (GPSA) * Karoo Democratic Force (KDF) * Karoo Gemeenskap Party (KGP) * Keep It Straight and Simple Party (KISS Party) * Kingdom Governance Movement * Labour Party * Land Party (LAND) * National Conservative Party of South Africa (NKP) * National Party South Africa (NP) * National People's Ambassadors (NPA) * National Religious Freedom Party (NRFP) * New South Africa Party * Operation Dudula * Organic Humanity Movement (OHM) * Pan Africanist Movement (PAM) * Peace and Justice Congress (PJC) * People's Movement for Change (PMC) *

Referendum Party The Referendum Party was a Eurosceptic, single-issue party, single-issue political party that was active in the United Kingdom from 1994 to 1997. The party's sole objective was for a referendum to be held on the nature of the UK's membership ...

(RP) * Socialist Green Coalition (SGC) * Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party (SRWP) *

South African Communist Party The South African Communist Party (SACP) is a communist party in South Africa. It was founded on 12 February 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), and tactically dissolved itself in 1950 in the face of being declared illegal by t ...

(SACP) – part of the ANC-led "

Tripartite Alliance The Tripartite Alliance is an alliance between the African National Congress (ANC), the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the South African Communist Party (SACP). The ANC holds a plurality in the South African parliament, ...

" * South African National Congress of Traditional Authorities (SANCOTA) * South African Political Party (SAPP) * South African Rainbow Alliance (SARA) * Spectrum National Party (SNP) * Sterkspruit Civic Association (SCA) * The Peoples Independent Civic Organisation (TPICO) * True Freedom Party * Truly Alliance (TA) * United Congress (UNICO) * Uniting People First *

Us the People US or Us most often refers to: * ''Us'' (pronoun), the objective case of the English first-person plural pronoun ''we'' * US, an abbreviation for the United States US, U.S., Us, us, or u.s. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Albums * ...

(US) *

Women Forward Women Forward (WF) is a South African political party founded aimed at uplifting women and advocating for women's rights. Initially formed to contest the 2009 South African General elections, the party grew and began running for elections itse ...

(WF) *

Workers and Socialist Party The Workers and Socialist Party (WASP) is a Marxist and Trotskyist political party in South Africa affiliated to International Socialist Alternative. History Marxist Workers Tendency WASP began life as the Marxist Workers Tendency (MWT), opera ...

(WASP) * Xiluva * Ximoko Party (XP)

Defunct parties

Other Defunct parties

* Abolition of Income Tax and Usury Party (1994–?) * Boerestaat Party (BSP) * Christen Party/Christian Party (2005–?) * Christian Democratic Alliance (?–2009) * Christian Front (CF) (???–2014) * Democratic Left Front (2011–2015) * Democratic Party (DP; 1973–1977) * Dominion Party (1934–1948) * Federation of Democrats (2005–?) * Front Nasionaal (FN; 2013–2020) (previously Federale Vryheidsparty) *

Herstigte Nasionale Party The Herstigte Nasionale Party () is a South African political party which was formed as a far-right splinter group of the now defunct National Party in 1969. The party name was commonly abbreviated as HNP, evoking the Herenigde Nasionale Pa ...

(HNP) * Khoisan Aboriginal and Others Movement (2008–?) *

Liberal Party of South Africa The Liberal Party of South Africa was a South African political party from 1953 to 1968. Founding The party was founded on 9 May 1953 at a meeting of the South African Liberal Association in Cape Town. Essentially, it grew out of a belief tha ...

(1953–1968) * Nasionale Aksie (NA; 2003–2004) * National Alliance (NA; 2009) * National Democratic Convention (NADECO; 2005–2009) * National People's Party (NPP; 2007–2016) * New Labour Party (NLP; 2004–2009) * Pro-death Penalty Party (2004?) * Progressive Reform Party (1975–1977) * Reform Party (1975–1975) *

Socialist Party of Azania Socialism is an economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes the economic, political, and social ...

(SOPA; 1998–2014) * South African Business Party (SABP; ?–2012) * South African Democratic Congress (Sadeco; 2008–2011) * Ubuntu Party (2012–2020) * United Independent Front (UIF; 2005–2010) * Workers Organisation for Socialist Action (WOSA; 1990–?)

References

External links

Independent Electoral CommissionANC's foes rise upKonrad-Adenauer-Stiftung: Political Parties in South Africa
{{Africa in topic, List of political parties in

Political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...