NAME: LUYANDA NDAWANA

STUDENT NUMBER: 222034991

MODULE: POLS 101

The President of South Africa is the head of state and the head of the National Executive, and
he is responsible for defending, supporting, and respecting the Constitution as the Republic's
supreme being. This essay will critically examine and expound on how South Africa's
President gets elected, with a focus on the current 6th democratically elected President of
South Africa, Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa.

The National Assembly of South Africa is the country's directly elected lower house of
parliament. The members of the National Assembly pick the President by electing a woman
or a man from among themselves who will be able to fill the vacancy in the role of President
and it is habitually the leader of the largest party in which has been the African National
Congress that has consistently ruled since the beginning of the democratic era. The President
of South Africa is appointed by the National Assembly rather than being elected by the
people. Reigning President Cyril Ramaphosa was elected as the 13th President of the African
National Congress (ANC) in December 2017 during the ruling party's National Conference in
Johannesburg. On February 15th, the year 2018 Cyril was sworn in as the President of the
Republic of South Africa following the resignation of former President Jacob Zuma.

The national president of South Africa is elected using the PR system (proportional)
representation system. The number of votes each party earns in the national election decides
how many representatives each party has in the 400-seat legislature; the National Assembly -
members then elect the president, in respect of which party has the majority of
representatives in the 400-seat legislature. At the time of his or her election, the President
must be a member of the National Assembly. The President immediately resigns his or her
position after being elected for the duration of the presidential term. A motion of no-
confidence or an impeachment trial may be used to remove the President. The election must
be overseen by the President of the Constitutional Court which is the Chief Justice who at the
time was Mogoeng Mogoeng. A person is no longer a member of the National Assembly
once elected. After that, they must be sworn in as president within five days following the
election. If a vacancy occurs, the Chief Justice must appoint a revised election date no later
than 30 days after the vacancy arises.

When elected to the presidency, a candidate ceases to be a member of the National Assembly
and must accept office within five days by swearing or confirming fidelity to the Republic
and compliance to the Constitution. The presidential term is five years long, with a two-term
maximum. Thus, the election system strives to avoid the consolidation of power in the
president, as was the case under Apartheid and in many other African nations. In the case of
President Cyril Ramaphosa, he was the obvious choice to take over the presidency and
complete former President Jacob Zuma’s term at the time because he was his deputy. He was
then sworn in as the 5th democratically elected president at the time at the presidential
guesthouse, Tuynhuys