The party list system of voting can give a dominant party undue influence over its parliamentary members, critics say, instancing the practices of the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa’s National Assembly. The party has defended its use of the system and the ‘redeployments’ it permits as necessary to its program of reconstruction; claiming […]
The inclusion of women in decision-making is a fundamental human right and an issue of social justice. There can be no democracy where ‘decisions about changing the lives of people are taken without the participation of more than half of the very lives that have to be changed. It cannot be participatory democracy when decisions […]
Since 1994 South Africa’s National Assembly and its nine regional legislatures have been elected on a list-based system of proportional representation. Proportional representation is a constitutional requirement. Elections for the Assembly and the legislatures are held simultaneously, though this is not a constitutional stipulation. Voters complete two ballot forms, one for the Assembly, the other […]
This paper surveys the constitutional provisions pertinant to a future electoal system applicable to the elections of South Africa’s National Assembly and provincial legislatures. It also also addresses court decisions releant to these provisions. The Constitution of te Republic of South Africa Act 108 of 1996 (the Constitutsion) requires that this electoral system “results, in […]
The voting behaviour of coloureds in South Africa’s short history of democratic elections has often been treated in an off-hand or simplistic manner. Those most guilty of this abuse have been the popular mass media and political party activists. As a result, existing interpretations of coloured voting patterns in the national and provincial elections of […]
Political party electioneering finance is a subject which deserves more consideration than it receives in Africa. Efficiently and expensively administered elections in which at most only one party can afford the costs of an effective and sophisticated campaign represent a very partial fulfilment of democratisation, yet such contests are normal in the region. As well […]
The cost of holding elections in a multiparty democracy is high and continues to rise. A random check on the cost per elector at a general election in 22 Commonwealth countries a few years ago revealed an average cost of US$4.24. There is however a growing awareness that the cost of not having elections often […]
Elections form an important ingredient for democratic rule in all societies. However, on their own, elections do not amount to democracy nor are they sufficient to sustain democratic governance. The significance of elections though, is that they encourage popular participation in the political process, which is crucial for both stability and legitimacy of rule. This […]
