History 🩵🐬

• Independent


  Separate from one another or not linked in any way
• Free and fair elections

  Elections in which all citizens are allowed to participate, with no one changing the results or forcing people to vote for a particular party
• Active citizen


  Citizens who play a role in their country by participating in an election
• Secret ballot


  A ballot where no one can see who you voted for
• Constitution


  The highest law in a country, explaining the rights and responsibilities of the government and citizens
• Accountable


  Held responsible for your actions and what you promised to do
• Many South Africans suffered because of the previous government's apartheid policies before 1994
• Only people classified as white were allowed to vote in elections under the apartheid government
• The apartheid government believed that any race other than white was inferior
• Most South African people were not allowed to choose their own leaders under apartheid
• A country is not democratic when it only allows some of its citizens to vote
• South Africa held its first democratic elections after the end of apartheid, where all adults could vote


  1994
• In the first democratic elections, all South Africans over 18 were allowed to vote for the first time</b>
• The African National Congress (ANC) won the 1994 election with Nelson Mandela as the party leader
• Nelson Mandela became the first democratically elected president of South Africa
• South Africa has continued to be a democracy since 1994
• Building blocks of democracy

  • People should have a choice (more than one political party)
  • There are laws that apply to everyone, including the president
  • Government is selected by regular elections where people can vote secretly
  • All people are equal and have the same basic rights
• Democracy


  A government system where everyone has the right to vote to elect the leaders
• Voting


  Choosing a representative by making a mark on a voting form on a specific day
• Government


  Leaders of a country who make and carry out the rules and laws of the country
• A democracy


  • A right to choose their leaders
  • Leaders with the most votes form the largest part of the government
• The first democratic government in South Africa

  1994
• For many years, South Africa was ruled by a government that was not democratic. Most of the people in South Africa were not allowed to vote. They also did not have many other rights.
• Many people fought against the unfair apartheid government in different ways. The apartheid government tried to stop them. These people were tortured and put in jail. Some were forced to leave the country. Many people also lost their lives.
• Finally, in 1994, South Africa held its first democratic elections. This meant that all adult citizens of South Africa now had the right to choose who they wanted as leaders.
• Political party


  A group of people who have similar ideas about how a country should be run
• Political parties in national elections

  1. Decide who its leaders will be

  2. Work hard to get people to support their ideas and vote for them

  3. Try to convince the voters to vote for their party
• Ballot paper


  Given to voters to mark who they are voting for
• The results are announced in newspapers, on television and on the radio.
• Up until 1994, the National Party (NP) ruled the country undemocratically. South Africa's government only became a democratic one after the 1994 elections.
• Over 19 million people voted in the 1994 election. Almost two-thirds of the people who voted chose the African National Congress (ANC) to be their leaders.
• Political parties


  A group of people who have similar ideas about how a country should be run and think their ideas are the best to run the country
• Political parties in South Africa

  • African National Congress (ANC)
  • Democratic Alliance (DA)
  • Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF)
  • Pan-African Congress (PAC)
  • Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP)
• How political parties work

  1. Use posters to promote themselves

  2. Give speeches to make sure people know who they are

  3. Want citizens to vote for them
• Citizens


  The people of a country who study and read about what the different political parties have to say and how their ideas will work best for the country
• Voting in national elections in South Africa

  1. All citizens 18 years and older can vote

  2. Voting is held every 5 years

  3. Votes are kept secret (secret ballot)

  4. The party with the most votes wins the election
• The last national election in South Africa was in 2014
• Citizens vote on a ballot paper and the votes are counted, with the winning party announced on TV, radio and newspapers
• Constitution


  A set of rules and laws that guide a country as a democracy and are the supreme law of the land
• South Africa's Constitution was approved in 1996 and took effect in 1997