Reflections on the state of electoral democracy in South Africa

Reflections on the state of electoral democracy in South Africa by Multi-Stakeholder Conference of the Electoral Commission of South Africa Download PDF EPUB FB2

Of South Africa yields, at best, some reasons for guarded optimism and, at worst, many grounds for serious concern. In each area, today’s South Africa presents a paradox. In terms of political culture, South African society played a key role in achieving democracy through its widespread opposition to the apartheid regime.

Amy Niang is a senior lecturer in international relations at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa and a visiting professor at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. She is a political scientist with interests in three broad areas, namely, the history of state formation and related ideas of sovereignty, statehood, community, and order, Africa’s International Relations.

Democratization and Development in Africa: Reflections on Theory and Practice in Ghana electoral democracy in Africa in for identifying a state in this category. In Africa, only South. The Paradox of Traditional Chiefs in Democratic Africa shows that unelected traditional leaders can facilitate democratic responsiveness.

Ironically, chiefs' undemocratic character gives them a capacity to organize responses to rural problems that elected politicians and state institutions lack. The aim of this article is to assess the democratization process in Africa in general and the multi-party elections in particular.

The decolonization process in Africa (s and s), which was. The incumbent won the most votes in the far North East and North West, and in the South West (his vice president’s region) where the APC is entrenched.

The main opposition candidate, Atiku Abubakar (a former vice president), won the most votes in the South East, South South, and some North Central : Ukoha Ukiwo.

The Impact of Democracy on Public Participation in the SADC Region "This paper grapples with the complex interconnection and interface between public participation and democratic governance on the African continent in general and South Africa in particular, after a decade of electoral democracy.

The first section. Without electoral reform and with populism’s polarizing appeals, South Africa’s fracturing political party system is the biggest danger to its still-nascent democracy.

Over the longer term, too, South Africa’s democracy can only survive if the state can ultimately remediate the underlying economic and social inequalities that represent. The African Peacebuilding Network (APN) of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), in collaboration with the Advanced Research Collaborative (ARC) of the Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY), hosted a public lecture on “Reflections on Democracy and Development in Africa” delivered by the esteemed Nigerian academic, Professor Oladipupo.

REFLECTIONS ON DEMOCRACY IN AFRICA The story of democracy in Africa in the past few years has been a dramatic one but recent books by and large do not reflect the flavour and immediacy of the life and death struggle which has literally gripped the continent.

There is a danger that academic authors move too far away from the reality in. Opposition and Democracy in South Africa. Roger Southall. Psychology Press, - Political Science - pages. 0 Reviews. This collection examines the nature, scope and prospects for political opposition under African National Congress political dominance.

Preview this book. We asked two Ghana experts from the University of California, Los Angeles, Sarah Brierley and George Ofosu, to review the film for Democracy in Africa. ‘An African Election’: reflections on Ghana’s elections.

" Antony Altbeker, The Dirty Work of Democracy: A year on the streets with the SAPS (Jonathan Ball, Johannesburg, ); Ted Leggett, ‘The state of crime and policing’, in John Daniel et al. (eds), State of the Nation: South Africa, – (HSRC Press, Pretoria, ), pp. –41; Mike Brogden, ‘“Horses for courses” and “thin blue lines”: community Cited by:   In South Africa the main stage for political competition has shifted inside the dominant African National Congress (ANC) which attained electoral landslides since Factional struggles within the party reached an apex in when President Thabo Mbeki neared his term limit but was determined to prevent the allegedly corrupt vice-president.

'Deserves to become a regular port of call for everyone wishing to keep abreast of key developments in South Africa today' SA Review. This seventh edition in the internationally acclaimed State of the Nation series from HSRC Press is a significant contribution to the debates around the impact of 20 years of freedom and democracy on South Africa.

Resonating with a. use of electoral direct democracy mechanisms is conducive to enhancing democratic systems. It gives an overview of the usage of direct democracy in all regions of the world, and examines six countries – Hungary, Switzerland, Uganda, the United States (Oregon), Uruguay and Venezuela.

gives to all people in South Africa a legal entitlement to, and instruments for, ongoing democratic civic action (what we call „participatory democracy‟). Political parties may be placed at the centre of the electoral system but people – now with a host of rights that must be respected and protected by government (and thus political parties)File Size: KB.

The book Liberal Democracy and Its Critics in Africa: Reflections on the question of political transition in Africa: the police state - Rachid Tlemcani 3.

An explanation of electoral attitudes in Cameroon “Democratic Decentralisation and Traditional Authority: Dilemmas of Land Administration in Rural South Africa.” The European Journal of Development Research.

16(1): Ntsebeza, L. Democracy Compromised: Chiefs and the Politics of the Land in South Africa. Leiden: Brill. Plaatje, S. Native Life in South Africa.

This book examines the effects of ethnicity on party politics in sub-Saharan Africa. Sebastian Elischer analyzes political parties in Ghana, Kenya and Namibia in detail, and provides a preliminary analysis of parties in seven other countries including Tanzania, Botswana, Senegal, Zambia, Malawi, Burkina Faso and by:.

This concluding chapter offers a broad insight into the future of electoral democracy in Nigeria, drawing from the lessons of the elections. Apart from recapping the main arguments of the various chapters of the book, the chapter also teases out the key broad themes of continuity and change in the Nigerian general : Ladi Hamalai, Samuel Egwu, J.

Shola Omotola.We have entered a period of uncertainty and insecurity. The rise of authoritarian nationalism and increasing hardships as a result of stalled or declining economies have adversely affected commitments to democratic institutions around the world.

Recent elections and referendums in Europe and the United States have deepened global anxieties. It has been inquired .South Africa’s advent to democracy was ushered through the Interim Constitution, drawn up through negotiations among various political parties, culminating in the country’s first non-racial election in All legally eligible South Africans were able to cast their vote for the first time on 27 April to mark the end of apartheid.