{"id":15709,"date":"2025-07-24T07:27:48","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T07:27:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/?post_type=storiesprojects&#038;p=15709"},"modified":"2025-11-20T15:39:30","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T15:39:30","slug":"what-is-the-cost-for-running-for-politics-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"storiesprojects","link":"https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/fr\/stories\/what-is-the-cost-for-running-for-politics-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the cost of running for office in South Africa?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>This report on the <strong>Cost of Politics in South Africa<\/strong>, based on research conducted in 2025, examines the financial and emotional toll of contesting elections in a maturing democracy navigating political transition. With 27.8 million registered voters and a newly formed Government of National Unity following the landmark 2024 elections, the study captures how money, party structures, and social expectations shape access to political power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While South Africa\u2019s proportional representation system is often seen as a pathway to inclusivity, the reality is more complex. Candidates reported campaign spending ranging from R17,000 to R1 million, with personal finances often covering costs (especially for those from smaller parties or independents). The internal dynamics of closed-party lists further concentrate influence in the hands of party leadership, making nominations competitive and opaque.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite positive signs such as 41.9% female candidates, <strong>young people remain underrepresented, and female aspirants in particular face disproportionate emotional and financial burdens<\/strong>. The report highlights how unequal access to funding, especially for newcomers, creates barriers to entry, undermines fair competition, and risks entrenching political inequality in South Africa\u2019s evolving democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-16018d1d wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/costofpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Cost-of-Politics_SA_designed-v4.pdf?x10009\" style=\"color:#ffffff;background-color:#f39200\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>South Africa&rsquo;s Cost of Politics<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:31px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-light-blue-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-1d3961a1351bf2adf70aa2f381386ba1\" style=\"color:#ffffff\">This study is supported by the&nbsp;<strong>WYDE Civic Engagement project<\/strong>, which aims to empower youth in democratic processes. Through this research, the Cost of Politics reports unlock the unique processes of electoral participation and their impact on democracy in different countries.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Banner-at-the-end-of-the-page-to-be-added-without-any-background-1-5.png\" alt=\"Led by\nWYDE\nCivic Engagement\n\nComposed by\nWESTMINSTER FOUNDATION FOR DEMOCRACY\n\nPowered by\nEuropean Partnership for Democracy\nEuropean Union\" class=\"wp-image-8703\" style=\"width:400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Banner-at-the-end-of-the-page-to-be-added-without-any-background-1-5.png 1600w, https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Banner-at-the-end-of-the-page-to-be-added-without-any-background-1-5-322x181.png 322w, https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Banner-at-the-end-of-the-page-to-be-added-without-any-background-1-5-161x91.png 161w, https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Banner-at-the-end-of-the-page-to-be-added-without-any-background-1-5-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Banner-at-the-end-of-the-page-to-be-added-without-any-background-1-5-1536x864.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This report on the Cost of Politics in South Africa, based on research conducted in 2025, examines the financial and emotional toll of contesting elections in a maturing democracy navigating political transition. With 27.8 million registered voters and a newly formed Government of National Unity following the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":18244,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"story-category":[94],"project-category":[242],"project-region":[315],"story-tag":[95,30,140],"class_list":["post-15709","storiesprojects","type-storiesprojects","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","story-category-research-content","project-category-wyde-civic-engagement","project-region-africa","story-tag-elections","story-tag-youth-engagement","story-tag-youth-political-participation"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/storiesprojects\/15709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/storiesprojects"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/storiesprojects"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/storiesprojects\/15709\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18247,"href":"https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/storiesprojects\/15709\/revisions\/18247"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"story-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story-category?post=15709"},{"taxonomy":"project-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project-category?post=15709"},{"taxonomy":"project-region","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project-region?post=15709"},{"taxonomy":"story-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story-tag?post=15709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}