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Election Update 2004 03 ELECTION UPDATE 2004 SOUTH AFRICA number 1 · 2 february 2004 Editorial of press reports, observation Commission), foreign and interviews with relevant embassies and missions, South Africa will hold its stakeholders. This first issue Universities, NGOs, religious third multi-party general of the newsletter covers seven bodies, and other related election sometime this year. (7) of the country’s nine (9) agencies. We strongly This general election, in fact, provinces and focuses debate encourage that you contact us coincides with the country’s around such issues as review at [email protected] if you celebration of its ten (10) of the 1994 and 1999 would like to receive the years of democracy. The elections; the institutional and newsletter every fortnight. election, therefore, is crucial legal framework for the 2004 to the nurturing of South elections; voter education; Individual authors take Africa’s democracy since the voter registration; and party responsibility for the views political changes of 1994. Not registration. The newsletter is and opinions expressed in the compiled by EISA staff and publication. only that; the election is also epoch-making in that it sets associates located across the contents the scene for the future of country. With a view to democratic governance in the encourage rich and fruitful Editorial 1 country, at least in the next debate, contributors have been The Context 2 decade. given the liberty to express National Perspectives 8 their own opinions, based on Provincial Roundup 12 The Electoral Institute of factual and verifiable Gauteng 12 Southern Africa (EISA) has a information. Of course, NorthWest Province 16 keen interest in fostering democracy is all about KZN 18 democratic governance in the tolerance of divergence or FreeState 24 in Africa, the SADC region diversity of views without Western Cape 29 and South Africa. It is for this imposition of one particular Eastern Cape 32 reason that EISA has world-view . Mpumalanga 36 established the Election 2004 Task Team as it did with the The newsletter will be posted 1999 Election. Through this on the EISA website, printed EISA Editorial Team team, EISA will produce a in a series, CD-Rom format and as a book at the end of the Wole Olaleye Dr Jackie Kalley fortnightly newsletter prior to, Dr Khabele Matlosa Claude during and after the election. elections as an historical record. It will also be widely Kabemba The newsletter will provide a disseminated – through the detailed coverage and analysis published with the assistance of of the political developments following: postages services, OSF-SA and NORAD that have both direct and emails to political parties, indirect bearing on the 2004 government departments, the election on the basis mainly IEC (Independent Electoral THE each party. For the specialists most compelling were the among Update’s readers, perceived need during the CONTEXT South Africa uses the Droop constitutional negotiations to How the System formula (or the highest adopt an electoral system in Works remainder method) to award which racial minorities would seats: this is described in have a presence and the Professor Tom Lodge detail in last year’s Electoral desirability of including University of the Law Amendment. In effect, within the ambit of formal Witwatersrand this system means that there is political institutions very no formal threshold for small parties on the edges of South Africa has used a parliamentary representation the ideological spectrum. In national list system of and, in 1999 parties that these two respects, the proportional representation in collected as few as 27,000 electoral system has served its elections since 1994. votes, AZAPO for example, South Africa well: minorities Voters complete two ballot in the last general election are generously represented in papers, one for the National obtained a seat in the National parliament (arguably they Assembly and one for the Assembly. enjoy disproportionate legislature of one of the nine influence) and previously provinces. No names appear What this means is that voters radical fringe groups have on these papers, only the titles choose parties, not individual been drawn into the political of parties, pictures of their representatives, and MP’s are mainstream (black-conscious leaders and their symbols or directly accountable to their revolutionary socialists, logos. Parties may contest the leaders, not to the electorate. Afrikaner irredentists, polls for all of the legislatures The larger parties do assign Christian fundamentalists, and the National Assembly or their MP’s to different areas, etc.). only some of these in doing so normally institutions, in the 120 or so following the boundaries of Because the issue of who sits parties currently registered municipal demarcation, but in parliament is at the with the Independent this assignment is voluntary discretion of party leaders this Electoral Commission (IEC) not a legal requirement and means that parties can include are many regional parties that there are no strong incentives in their lists people who might will probably only seek seats for MP’s to nurture their own encounter difficulties in in a single legislature as well geographical support base. securing support if they had to as a variety of single issue Many people feel this is a stand as candidates in groups. Parties submit lists of weakness of the system Westminster style candidates to IEC: two lists because legislators do not constituency elections: for the National Assembly – have the same kind of public uncharismatic technocrats, for nominations for a “national accountability that exists in instance, or people from racial list” and nominations of the constituency-based system minorities who lived in Assembly members proposed under which minority rule predominantly African areas from the parties’ provincial South Africa was governed (assuming that racial identity formations, and lists for each until 1994. South Africa’s might influence voter of the regional legislatures. choice of national list decisions, in South Africa an representation was prompted untested and perhaps After the voting, seats are by a number of questionable assumption). allocated in accordance to the considerations. Of these the Women normally fare badly share of the vote received by election update 2004 · south africa · number 1 in constituency elections and though they would have still become exceptional. Even women are especially well to undergo party re-selection within KwaZulu-Natal the represented in South African at the end of the relationship between ANC parliaments largely because parliamentary term as is the and the Inkatha Freedom the ANC has adopted a quota normal practice in many Party was more civil in 1999 arrangement in which every constituency systems. On the than in 1994, though “no-go” third name on every electoral whole, irrespective of zones persisted, especially in list is female. How parties electoral system, the modern the northern regions of the choose their lists is up to them international trend is towards province. as though most groups have executive dominated incorporated a degree of parliamentary caucuses. On the whole, South African democracy into their party campaigning tends to be procedures: the ANC, for As far as elections are presidential in character, example, initiates a concerned, the consequences another consequence of a nomination process from the of a national list PR ballot are system in which voters are branches and holds lists generally benign. Because all encouraged to support parties conferences, though the final votes count equally – there rather than individual choice can be adjusted by its are no “wasted” votes as in legislators. The identification National Executive. the case of constituency of the party with its leader elections, parties have an helps to personalise the So, the South African system incentive to seek out all votes campaign and, in the past is strong when it comes to wherever they are rather than opinion polls have often “descriptive representation” merely concentrating on their indicated that the popularity or the inclusion within home bases. This of individual national institutions of a good cross consideration helps to politicians can cross party section of the population. motivate parties to direct their boundaries. Parties are Critics suggest, though, that appeals at the unconverted prohibited from advertising because the main lines of and to cross South Africa’s on television, though radio accountability flow upwards, historical social barriers of advertising (as well as the from legislators to their race and region and normally provision of free radio time to leaders, ruling party this means that they try to parties) were key factors in parliamentarians are reluctant occupy the “middle ground” the 1999 campaigning. to exercise their oversight ideologically. In a society However the more function, that is, to challenge with a history of political professional South African their leaders if they find polarization this centrist parties direct their messages legislative proposals dynamic is helpful. Because at television audiences objectionable or they perceive “occupation” of “territory” is assiduously. Opinion polls abuses of power. MP’s can less relevant than it would be suggest that more and more be dismissed by party leaders in a first past the post system, South African citizens use at any time during a there is less reason for parties television as their main source parliamentary term. If ANC to deny their rivals access to of political information and representatives were directly certain neighbourhoods: this hence the free coverage that elected they might be readier sort of behaviour was quite party campaigning may to challenge government more common in the 1994 elections receive in television news and vigorously over certain whereas in 1999, outside actuality programming may contentious policy issues, KwaZulu-Natal, it had be a very important influence 3 election update 2004 · south africa · number 1 on voter decision-making. and other kinds of market performed the first role more With this consideration in research.
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