Democratic Alliance (South Africa) in the context of "Coloureds"

The Republic of South Africa is a unitary parliamentary democratic republic. The President of South Africa serves both as head of state and as head of government. The President is elected by the National Assembly (the lower house of the South African Parliament) and must retain the confidence of the Assembly in order to remain in office. South Africans also elect provincial legislatures which govern each of the country's nine provinces.

Since the end of apartheid in 1994, the African National Congress (ANC) has dominated South Africa's politics. The ANC is the ruling party in the national legislature, as well as in most provinces. The ANC received 40.18% of the vote during the 2024 general election. The main challenger to the ANC's rule is the Democratic Alliance (DA), led by John Steenhuisen, which received 21.81% of the vote in the 2024 election. Other major political parties represented in Parliament includes uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK Party), Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). The formerly dominant New National Party (NNP), which both introduced and ended apartheid through its predecessor the National Party (NP), disbanded in 2005 to merge with the ANC.

Gauteng (/xaʊˈtɛŋ/ khow-TENG, Sotho: [xɑ́.úˈtʼèŋ̀]; Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; Zulu: eGoli or iGoli [îːˈɡóːlì]) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa.

Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only 1.5% of the country's land area, it is the most populous province in South Africa, with more than a quarter (26%) of the national population; the provincial population was approximately 16.1 million, according to mid-year 2022 estimates. Highly urbanised, the province's capital is also the country's largest city, Johannesburg. Gauteng is the wealthiest province in South Africa and is considered the financial hub of South Africa; the financial activity is mostly concentrated in Johannesburg. It also contains the administrative capital, Pretoria, and other large areas such as Midrand, Vanderbijlpark, Ekurhuleni and the affluent Sandton. The largest township, Soweto, is also found in this province. Politically, it is the closest contested province between the nationalist African National Congress and the liberal Democratic Alliance in South Africa.

The National Assembly is the directly elected house of the Parliament of South Africa, located in Cape Town, Western Cape. It consists of four hundred members who are elected every five years using a party-list proportional representation system where half of the members are elected proportionally from nine provincial lists and the remaining half from national lists so as to restore proportionality.

The National Assembly is presided over by a Speaker, assisted by a Deputy Speaker. The current speaker as of 14 June 2024 is Thoko Didiza (ANC). The Deputy Speaker is Annelie Lotriet (DA) since 14 June 2024.

General elections were held in South Africa on 29 May 2024 to elect a new National Assembly as well as the provincial legislature in each of the nine provinces. This was the 7th general election held under the conditions of universal adult suffrage since the end of the apartheid era in 1994. The National Council of Provinces (NCOP), the upper house of the Parliament of South Africa, was elected by the provincial legislatures on 13 and 14 June after the general election.

Support for the ruling African National Congress (ANC) significantly declined in this election; the ANC remained the largest party but lost the parliamentary majority that it had held since the inaugural post-apartheid election in 1994. The centrist Democratic Alliance (DA) remained in second place with a slight increase. uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), a left-wing populist party founded 6 months prior to the election and led by former president Jacob Zuma, came in third place. Several smaller parties received too few votes in the regional constituencies to secure a seat but received enough votes overall to win seats in the National Assembly (based on their allocation of compensatory seats).

John Henry Steenhuisen (/ˈstiːnhaɪzən/ STEE-n-hy-zən [ˈdʒɔn ˈstiənˌɦœysən]; born 25 March 1976) is a South African politician who is currently serving as Minister of Agriculture since July 2024. He has been the leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) since November 2020, having served as the interim leader for one year from November 2019. He served as the 20th leader of the Opposition from October 2019 to June 2024. Pursuant to the 2024 South African general election, he was appointed to the third cabinet of Cyril Ramaphosa when the DA joined the Government of National Unity (GNU).

Born in Durban, he matriculated from Northwood Boys' High School. Steenhuisen joined the Democratic Party and was elected to the Durban City Council in 1999 as the councillor for Durban North. In 2000, the Democratic Alliance was formed, and he was elected as a councillor of the newly formed eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality in that year's municipal election. He was appointed as the DA's caucus leader in 2006.

South Africa's Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (Tswana: kabinetemaitlhomo; Sotho: sekabinete; Northern Sotho: kabinete ya lekgotlakganetšo; Afrikaans: skadukabinet; Zulu: izingqapheli zesigungu sesishayamthetho; Southern Ndebele: ikhabinethi elingisako; Xhosa: ikhabhinethi yeqela eliphikisayo; Swazi: ikhabhinethi lelindzele; Tsonga: khabinete yo xopela; Venda: khabinethe yo dzumbamaho) consists of Members of the National Assembly who scrutinise their corresponding office holders in the executive branch of government and develop alternative policies for their respective portfolios. The Democratic Alliance (DA) retained their position as official opposition in the 2019 general election and Mmusi Maimane announced his shadow cabinet on 5 June 2019.

Mmusi Maimane resigned as Leader of the Opposition in October 2019. John Steenhuisen was elected as his successor and leads the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet. Appointed alongside Steenhuisen was Natasha Mazzone, as Chief Whip, and Annelie Lotriet as Chairperson of the Caucus. Steenhuisen announced his shadow cabinet on 5 December 2020.

South Africa since 1994 transitioned from the system of apartheid to one of majority rule. The election of 1994 resulted in a change in government with the African National Congress (ANC) coming to power. The ANC retained power after subsequent elections in 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014, and 2019, However, in 2024, they officially lost the National Majority and had to form a Government of National Unity with other political parties, including the former official opposition, the Democratic Alliance (DA).

The Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality (Sotho: Masepala o Moholo wa Mangaung; Zulu: UMasipala weDolobhakazi laseMangawunge; Afrikaans: Mangaung Metropolitaanse Munisipaliteit; Tswana: Mmasepala wa Toropokgolo ya Mangaung; Xhosa: uMasipala oMbaxa wase Mangaung) is a metropolitan municipality which governs Bloemfontein and surrounding towns in the Free State province of South Africa. Mangaung is a Sesotho word meaning "place of cheetahs", as it was not uncommon for the Basotho to name warrior regiments after ferocious animals.

In the municipal elections held on 1 November 2021, the African National Congress won 51 out of 100 seats on the Metro Council, while the Democratic Alliance won 26 seats and the Economic Freedom Fighters won 12 seats.