One year on: South Africa’s coalition government boosted optimism, but will it last?

By Matthias Krönke, Lecturer, University of Reading
Rorisang Lekalake, Afrobarometer Senior Analyst/Methodologist, University of Cape Town

For the first time since the end of apartheid in 1994, the ruling African National Congress lost its parliamentary majority in 2024. After 30 years in power, it had to form a coalition with 10 other political parties to govern the country. The creation of the “government of national unity” marked a turning point in the country’s democracy.

This development appears to have rekindled hope and positive sentiment among South Africans about the country’s future…

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