This is an edited version of author Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela’s article in the Mail & Guardian, 24 to 29 April 2009.
Sindisiwe Mncube, an Ulundi IEC official, has become the first South African since the 1994 democratic elections to go on trial for electoral fraud.
A presiding officer charged with violating the Electoral Act during the April elections begged the person who caught her red-handed not to expose her.
Media speculation about why ANC chairperson Baleka Mbete was not sworn in as an MP last week was ”distorted”, she said on Tuesday.
Trevor Manuel was appointed to head a powerful new planning body on Sunday, keeping the former finance minister at the heart of policy making.
Johannesburg Metro police will fine political parties if they don’t remove their election posters by Monday, spokesperson Wayne Minnaar said.
Preparations began before dawn on Monday to welcome members of South Africa’s fourth Parliament for a session likely to be more robust than the last.
According to the IFP, ordinary voters were tired of the ANC’s inability to develop, the rural areas especially.
ANC president Jacob Zuma’s security detail has been beefed up ahead of his inauguration next week because there were some people who hated him.
The party’s money troubles have partly been addressed by the fact that it will have 30 paid MPs in the National Assembly.
The victory in the general elections was not a ”blank cheque” given to the ANC-led alliance to rule for another five years, the SACP said on Friday.
The ”Stop Zuma” campaign denied the ANC a two-thirds majority in the recent elections, DA leader Helen Zille said on Friday.
That the press is out of kilter with the voting preferences of the majority of South Africans is not a bad thing for democracy.
The <i> Mail & Guardian</i> learned recently that Jacob Zuma’s administration will expand national ministries from 28 to 32.
The Gauteng African National Congress on Wednesday recommended three people for the position of provincial premier.
The IEC on Wednesday released the official list of MPs and MPLs due to take up their seats in the national and provincial legislatures.
The Freedom Front Plus has its own ideas about why the smaller opposition parties did so badly in the general election last week.
Where the English have football, South Africans have politics. This occurred to me as I stood near the stadium where SA will host the World Cup final.
DA leader Helen Zille will step down as Cape Town mayor on Wednesday when she’s gazetted as a member of the Western Cape provincial legislature.
Before the 2004 elections the Mail & Guardian visited the Mayixhale family in a village outside Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape.
He may not be a bad man; and his government may do good things. But the long-term impact is as simple as it is severe.
Elizma is a born free. As old as SA’s 15-year-old democracy, she will never carry a pass, be denied the vote or forced to use a separate to toilet.
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel is likely to be moved to a powerful new body to oversee government performance when Jacob Zuma takes office.
For the first time, blind South Africans have voted in secret, thanks to a new Braille ballot template.
Nkandla: already thankful, but also expectant that the ANC’s promise of a "better life for all" will resonate through these hills and valleys.
Party leaders gathered with IEC officials and the media at the results centre on Saturday afternoon in Pretoria where the results were announced.
In the final tally, the African National Congress dominates the National Assembly but misses its two-thirds majority by an inch.
The ANC was happy with its performance in the election despite missing a two-thirds majority by a whisker, the party said on Saturday.
The ANC is set to fall just short of the two-thirds of votes needed to ensure a parliamentary majority sufficient to make sweeping changes.
Jacob Zuma’s election victory has been welcomed by ministers in Zimbabwe as intensifying pressure on President Robert Mugabe.
Zuma tapped into the mood of the poor black majority, but they too will turn against him if he fails to deliver.
A visit by Zanele Mbeki caused a flurry of activity on the floor of the Independent Electoral Commission centre in Pretoria on Friday afternoon.