The ANC achieved its 50-50 of gender balance when it nominated four women and four men to head the provincial governments it controls.
Before the 2004 elections the Mail & Guardian visited the Mayixhale family in a village outside Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape.
Mandy Rossouw and Mmanaledi Mataboge look at the reasons for two parties losing support.
Party leaders gathered with IEC officials and the media at the results centre on Saturday afternoon in Pretoria where the results were announced.
The DA was the biggest beneficiary of the overseas vote that took place two weeks ago. It received 7 581 (77%) of the 9 857 votes.
It was an easy win for the ANC. But what quickly emerged was that a shift had occurred in the South African political landscape.
Gauteng — the crucial province that will determine the outcome of the national vote — is also the one dragging its feet in releasing results.
With more than 300 000 votes counted in this year’s general election, the 60% mark continued to elude the ruling African National Congress.
The African National Congress managed to secure three votes (1,08%) in the conservative Northern Cape town of Orania in Wednesday’s national election.
At midnight on Wednesday the elections results showed that the ANC is in poll position to take the majority in the 2009 national elections.