The outcome of the 2016 local government elections in which the ANC lost substantial support, fuelled early speculation on not only the outcome of the 2019 general elections, but also on the factors which were likely to determine party support. Added to this was the deteriorating political and socio-economic situation in South Africa. Against this […]
L’Afrique du Sud a réalisé des progrès considérables depuis 1994 dans l’institutionnalisation et la consolidation de la qualité de sa démocratie. Cependant, des problèmes graves et persistants de gouvernance et des problèmes socio-économiques ont provoqué la colère et la frustration de la population et motivé une augmentation des actions de protestation par le biais de canaux conventionnels et moins conventionnels. La possibilité pour les citoyens de participer au processus politique est essentielle pour une démocratie saine. Il est donc important que des procédures et des mécanismes appropriés soient en place. lieu pour faciliter cette participation. En utilisant la méthodologie de la qualité de la démocratie, le document aborde plusieurs questions importantes, à savoir : dans quelle mesure les opportunités de participation conventionnelle sont-elles développées en Afrique du Sud, et dans quelle mesure sont-elles exploitées ? et quelles formes non conventionnelles de participation existent et quelle est la réponse du gouvernement ? En abordant ces questions, cet article explore le lien entre citoyenneté active et participation politique.
au cours des 25 dernières années en vue de vérifier la qualité de la participation politique de l’Afrique du Sud.
This study examines the concept of public participation and the dispute resolution mechanisms that can be utilised to resolve electoral disputes and conflicts at the level of local government in South Africa. The study stems largely from community-based participatory action research, also referred to as café conversations. This research project was conducted in Moutse, Wards […]
This paper examines the operations of political parties in Kenya and South Africa and provides an analysis of how such operations have become drivers of election violence. The paper contends that as a result of the structure of political parties and how they operate, they have contributed to the violence that has become an endemic […]
There is a general perception that youth are apathetic to local politics and national elections. At the same time, young people are often at the forefront of protest. Both electoral politics and protest are forms of political participation; however, the relationship between the two is under-explored. In Zamdela, young people were politicised by two events: […]
This paper considers the implications of the Constitutional Court ruling that declared the 2013 Tlokwe by-elections unconstitutional. This ruling was because the voters’ roll did not contain the addresses of voters as required by electoral legislation and it has cast a shadow on the credibility of elections in South Africa. The Constitutional Court gave the […]
Democratic elections in Africa have drawn significant international interest because of their tendencies to generate conflict and violence. Unfortunately, this is not likely to change in the near future, especially with the prevalence of one-party dominance, electoral malpractices, patrimonial leadership and election violence in a number of African countries. Against this background the paper carries […]
While many studies have probed the relationship between ethnic diversity and voter turnout, few have examined how voter turnout might be influenced by state policies that afford ethnic groups differing levels of official recognition. This study draws on theories at the intersection of political science and sociolinguistics, to develop and test an argument about the […]
Political television advertising is becoming an important feature of democratic elections and essential to election campaign strategies. In this article we take a close look at the role the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is playing in the new era of political television advertising ushered in in 2009. We focus our analysis on the banning […]
In the 2014 general elections Agang SA won 52 350 votes (0.28% of the 18654 771 votes cast) and only two seats in the National Assembly. The electoral performance of the newly-formed party was dismal, especially in comparison to that of its fellow debutant, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). This article explores the reasons for […]
