The South African 2014 national and provincial elections

This policy brief by the Institute for Security Studies evaluates the integrity of South Africa's 2014 national and provincial elections. It examines the performance of the Electoral Commission (IEC), instances of political violence and intimidation, the use of state resources for campaigning, and the role of media coverage in informing voters.

• The 2014 elections were generally perceived as free and fair by voters, with an IEC assessment showing 97% of sampled voters viewed procedures as free and 96% as fair. However, the IEC faced logistical challenges, including approximately 22% of polling stations opening late and ballot shortages in urban areas due to high turnout.
• The credibility of the Electoral Commission (IEC) was challenged by a controversy involving chief electoral officer Advocate Pansy Tlakula, who was found by a 2013 Public Protector report and a March 2014 National Treasury report to have played a 'grossly irregular role' in a procurement deal for office premises in Pretoria.
• While the 2014 election was described by the IEC as the most peaceful on record, the Community Agency for Social Enquiry (CASE) identified at least 12 politically motivated deaths between January 2013 and February 2014, primarily in KwaZulu-Natal.
• The ANC was identified by the CASE report as the primary perpetrator of 'economic coercion', where poorer voters were threatened with the loss of state grants, jobs, and services if they voted for opposition parties.
• There were reports of the ANC improperly using state resources to gain an electoral advantage, including the use of government advertising, the staging of state events as party rallies, and the distribution of food parcels and blankets via the Department of Social Development.
• Media coverage of the 2014 elections was generally fair (scoring 85% for fairness by Media Monitoring Africa), but it focused heavily on personalities and party politics rather than policy. Only 3% of monitored coverage focused on party manifestos.
• The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) faced accusations of bias after banning advertisements from the DA and EFF in the weeks before the election, a decision upheld by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA).

APA

Schulz-Herzenberg, C. (2014). The South African 2014 national and provincial elections. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PolBrief62.pdf

Chicago

Schulz-Herzenberg, Collette. The South African 2014 national and provincial elections. Institute for Security Studies, 2014. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PolBrief62.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Schulz-Herzenberg |first1=Collette |title=The South African 2014 national and provincial elections |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=August 2014 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PolBrief62.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{schulzherzenberg2014south, author = {Schulz-Herzenberg, Collette}, title = {{The South African 2014 national and provincial elections}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2014}, month = aug, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PolBrief62.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }