ESARP

State of democracy

In 2007 ANC’s increasing electoral dominance remained unchallenged as the opposition remained weak. The only opposition party that challenges ANC at the provincial level is the Inkatha Freedom Party in Kwazulu-Natal.

Electoral system discussed

In parliament, changes in the current electoral system were the subject of debate. At the local level there is is a mixed system, with half of the seats on the basis of proportional representation and half on the basis of municipal wards. However, there is a fixed-list, proportional representation system at the provincial and national level. To strengthen the link between elected representatives (at the national and provincial level) and their constituencies, it has been suggested to either translate the local mixed system to provincial and national levels or introduce a multi-member closed-list system (MMCL). However, the ANC so far favours maintaining the current system.

Mbeki vs Zuma

At the ANC Congress in December 2007, Jacob Zuma was elected President, defeating incumbent party leader Thabo Mbeki. The Congress and the electoral process in the run-up to the Congress were a showcase of internal party democracy. With the election of Zuma as ANC president, it is expected that he will also be the ANC candidate to succeed Mbeki in April 2009.

The campaign between Mbeki and Zuma in the run-up to these ANC elections has put pressure on the unity within ANC and perhaps even more so between the government and ANC: will South Africa be led by the ANC or by the government? The separation of powers is also challenged by a pending court case against Zuma. The fact that Zuma stood for elections while charged with corruption has raised concerns about the ethical standards within political society in South Africa.

NIMD Programme

The NIMD programme in South Africa is a small programme. The objective is to strengthen the South African political party system. The programme does not aim to support the political parties separately to enhance their institutional capacity, as the political parties receive substantial governmental subsidies.

In President Mbeki’s February 2007 State of the Union address, he endorsed the idea of establishing dialogue between the parliamentary parties outside plenary sessions to arrive at a national consensus. Three high-level dialogue meetings were organized for the South African Political Parties Forum, the informal group of parties established by the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) and NIMD.

In 2007 two regional exchange visits took place. In an exchange visit to Malawi politicians from both countries discussed poverty alleviation and visited several successful grassroots poverty alleviation initiatives. Zambian political parties initiated an exchange visit to South Africa to be informed about the successful constitution-making process in South Africa and the legal framework for political parties (floorcrossing and party financing).

Zambian study visit to South Africa

A three-day visit that Zambian parties made to South African parties took place in July 2007. The first day was a conference of the two groups on the function of their political parties and their different political systems. As both countries are discussing constitutional reforms, the comparison between the first-past-the-post system in Zambia and the proportional representation electoral system (at the national level) in South Africa was very fruitful.

The second day of the visit was a conference with South African civil society about the impact of the political system (as stipulated in the constitution) on the functioning of political parties. The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) presented the way in which the IEC regulates the parties.

On the third day, the Zambian parties visited Parliament. They met several South African MPs and watched as President Mbeki addressed a joint session of both houses of Parliament on the amnesty of political prisoners. The Zambian delegation was impressed by the citizen-friendly atmosphere in Parliament, the television broadcasting, the translation for MPs who wanted to speak in their vernacular languages (rather than in English) and the equal treatment of the MPs and the President. It was agreed that some experts from South Africa would be welcome to support the constitutional reform debate in Zambia.