[1] The African National Congress (ANC) of President Thabo Mbeki, which came to power after the end of the apartheid system in 1994, was re-elected with an increased majority.

The ANC, which had been in power since 1994, obtained 69.7% of votes cast on the national ballot, theoretically allowing them to change the constitution.

[4][5] The year 2004 saw an increase in voter abstention and there was at least one high-profile election and registration boycotts campaign, the No Land!

[6][7] A major electoral issue during the election was the dominance of the ANC; detractors of the ANC, most notably the Democratic Alliance, argued that the party's political dominance posed a threat to the country's democratic institutions and that voters should therefore vote for opposition parties.

[10][11] Following the election the Mail and Guardian newspaper was controversially gagged from publishing a report on the Oilgate scandal.

The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) consists of 90 members, ten elected by each provincial legislature.