Race, Class and Underlying Trends in Party Support in South Africa

Abstract

The advent of multi-racial elections inaugurated democracy in South Africa in 1994. The results of subsequent elections in 1999 and 2004 differed little from those of 1994, except that the Democratic Party gained ground and the National Party lost support. In all three of these elections, there was an important correlation between race and vote. However, although participation in elections has remained high, rates of underlying party identification have significantly decreased over the first decade of democracy. This article uses survey data to analyse changing patterns of underlying support for political parties in South Africa, focusing closely on the African National Congress and the (New) National Party. Evidence is found of an emerging class cleavage that significantly affects party support.