This is one of three briefing papers
prepared for delegation organized Shared Interest visiting South Africa from April
22 through May 2, 2004. Shared Interest is a U.S. not-for-profit social investment fund guaranteeing loans to
community development financial institutions engaged in South Africa’s
reconstruction process including affordable credit for small businesses and
social housing in South Africa’s lowest income communities. To see other
paper click links below. |
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Shared
Interest South Africa Delegation Briefing Paper April 22 – May 2, 2004 A Decade of Democracy: Government and Elections in South Africa By Richard Knight, March 19, 2004 South Africa’s third democratic
elections are scheduled for April 14. Elections will be held for Parliament
and the nine provincial legislatures. The current Constitution, which took
effect in February 1997, provides the structure of government including a
national Parliament, nine provincial legislatures and local government. The
three levels of government are interdependent and share responsibilities such
as provision of services. The Constitution also provides for a series of fundamental
rights. There is an independent judiciary including a Constitutional Court.
Other bodies such as the South African Human Rights Commission and the
Independent Electoral Commission help ensure human rights and democracy. Government Parliament Parliament, which is the legislative authority, has two houses, the National Assembly and the National Council of the Provinces (NCOP). The life of Parliament is five years.
The National Assembly consists of 400 members. Members of Parliament (MPs) are elected through an electoral system based on proportional representation. Votes are cast for parties, not individual candidates. Each party produces a list of candidates, is assigned a number of seats in proportion to the number of votes it receives in the election and fills those seats according to the priority designated on the list. Half the members come from national lists and half from regional lists. In the 1999 elections the ANC received 66.35% of the vote and received 266 seats. This system allows smaller parties some access to Parliament. In the 1999 election seven parties that received less than one percent of the votes cast each made it into Parliament, three with only one seat. According to the Constitution the National Assembly “is elected to represent the people and to ensure government by the people under the Constitution. It does this by choosing the President, by providing a national forum for public consideration of issues, by passing legislation and by scrutinizing and overseeing executive action.” Any bill can originate in the National Assembly. Bills that are passed are then sent to NCOP for consideration. A bill concerning money can only be introduced in the Assembly. The National Assembly is presided over by a Speaker. The current Speaker, who has been in office since 1994, is Dr. Frene Ginwala (ANC). The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) consists of 90 members. The Constitution declares that NCOP “represents the provinces to ensure that provincial interests are taken into account in the national sphere of government.” The delegation from each province consists of ten members, regardless of the size or population of the province. Delegations consist of four special and six permanent members. The four special delegates are drawn from the provincial legislature and include the Premier of the province or a person designated by the Premier as head of the delegation. These delegates may change from time to time. The six permanent members must be eligible to be members of the provincial legislature but cannot be members. All delegation members represent political parties; if a member resigns or dies the party holding the seat chooses another member. The delegation must reflect the strength of each political party in the provincial legislature. The NCOP considers all national bills passed by the
National Assembly. NCOP can pass, make or propose amendments to, or reject
legislation. If NCOP rejects a bill or passes amendments it goes back to the
Assembly. NCOP can only initiate or prepare bills on matters over which
national and provincial legislatures jointly have the power to make laws and
certain bills affecting the provinces.
The President and
Cabinet The National Assembly elects the President from among its members. Once elected the President ceases to be a Member of Parliament. The President is Head of State and head of the national executive. According to the Constitution the President “exercises the executive authority, together with the other members of the Cabinet, by a) implementing national legislation except where the Constitution or an Act of Parliament provides otherwise; b) developing and implementing national policy; c) co-ordinating the functions of state departments and administrations; d) preparing and initiating legislation and e) performing any other executive function provided for in the Constitution or in national legislation.” The current President is Thabo Mbeki. The National Assembly, by a majority of its members, can pass two kinds of motions of no confidence. It can adopt a motion of no confidence in the Cabinet (excluding the President), in which case the President must reconstitute the Cabinet. It can adopt a motion of no confidence in the President, in which case the President and the other members of the Cabinet and any Deputy Ministers must resign. The administrative capitol is Pretoria and Parliament is in Cape Town. The Constitutional Court is based in Braamfontein. Past
Elections 1994 Elections South Africa’s first non-racial democratic election was
held in April 1994 and led to the establishment of a Government of National
Unity (GNU). The GNU was led by the African
National Congress (ANC) which had won 252 seats in the National Assembly.
Nelson Mandela was elected President. The GNU also included the National
Party (NP) and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). Mandela named two
Deputy Presidents, Thabo Mbeki (ANC) and F. W. de Klerk
(NP), the former apartheid president.
De Klerk held his position until the NP
withdrew from the Government of National Unity in June 1996. Mandela appointed IFP leader Mangosuthu
Gatsha Buthelezi as Minister of Home Affairs, a position he still holds.
1999 Elections In the 1999 national election, the African National Congress gained 266 seats in the National Assembly, the Democratic Party 38, the Inkatha Freedom Party 34, the New National Party 28, the United Democratic Movement 14, the African Christian Democratic Party six, the Pan Africanist Congress three, the United Christian Democratic Party three, the Vryheidsfront/Freedom Front three, the Freedom Alliance two, the Afrikaner Eenheidsbeweging one, the Azanian People’s Organisation one, and the Minority Front one.[*]
Several senior IFP members continue to serve in the national government. In addition to Buthelezi, Ben Skosana serves as minister of correctional services, Joe Matthews serves as deputy minister of safety and security and Musa Zondi serves deputy minister of public works. Ben Ngubane relinquished his position of minister of arts, culture, science and technology, a position he had held since 1999, when he was appointed ambassador to Japan in February 2004. Floor Crossing Parliament passed a series of bills creating a 15-day period “floor crossing” period. During this period members of national, provincial and local government legislatures could retain their seats despite defecting from the parties under whose banner they were elected. Floor crossing at the national and provincial level took place starting March 21, 2003 and at the municipal level in October 2002. Twenty-two MPs changed party in the National Assembly. The ANC gained nine, all of whom had previously been members of the United Democratic Movement (UDM). As a result the ANC currently has over two-thirds of the members. The Democratic Alliance, the official opposition, gained eight. Five new parties were formed all of which only have one seat. There are now seventeen parties in the National Assembly, up from thirteen prior to the floor crossing. Twelve of these parties have fewer than 5 seats, including the UDM which dropped from 14 to 4. The makeup of the National Council of the Provinces did not change due to the ANC’s decision not to seek additional seats for its gains in the provincial legislatures. (See below for the impact of floor crossing at the provincial level.) The next floor crossing period will be after the next election. The legislation allows two floor crossing periods during the five year life of Parliament. Women After the floor crossing 122 of members of the National Assembly are women, over 30%. Of the largest parties 36% of ANC MPs are women, compared to 13% for the DA, the second largest party. For other parties the percent is ACPD 29%, IFP 26% and NNP 15%. There are two parties whose sole MP is a woman. This is an increase from the first democratic election when 100 women were elected MPs, or 25%. By comparison, only 14% of the U.S. House of Representatives are women.
Provincial
Government There are nine provinces, each of which has a legislature with between 30 and 80 members. Elections are proportional with members selected from party lists in proportion to the percentage of votes each party receives. Each province has an Executive Council headed by a Premier. The Premier is elected by Members of the Provincial Legislature (MPLs) from among their members at its first sitting after an election. The Premier appoints an Executive Council, whose members are responsible to the Legislature. Provinces have legislative and executive powers concurrently with the national government in a wide variety of areas including housing, services, health care, road-traffic and development. Currently seven of the nine provincial legislatures are controlled by the ANC and it operates in a coalition in two. The provincial Premiers are: Rev Makhenkesi Stofile (ANC) in the Eastern Cape; Mr Mbhazima Shilowa (ANC) in Gauteng; Mr. Manne Dipico (ANC) in the Northern Cape; Mr. Ndaweni Mahlangu (ANC) in Mpumalanga; Ms Isabella Direko (ANC) in the Free State; Mr Popo Molefe (ANC) in the North West; Adv Ngoako Ramatlhodi (ANC) in Limpopo (previously Northern Province); Mr. Marthinus van Schalkwyk (NNP) in the Western Cape, and Mr. Lionel Mtshali (IFP) in KwaZulu-Natal. The provinces where the ANC operates in coalition are Western Cape (with the NNP) and KwaZulu-Natal (with the IFP). The relationship between the ANC and the IFP is extremely strained and the coalition is one forced on the two parties by the fact that neither could put together a majority in the provincial legislature without the other. Western Cape: In the 1994 election the NP won an
absolute majority - 23 of the seats in the 42 seat provincial legislature. In
the 1999 elections the ANC won 42.07% of the vote, the NNP 38.39% and the DP
11.91%. Despite getting the most votes the ANC was originally excluded from
government by a coalition of the NNP and the DP and Gerald Morkel (DP) was named Premier.
But in November 2001 the NNP pulled out and Morkel
was forced to resign. The NNP and the ANC formed a governing coalition and in
June 2002 Marthinus van Schalkwyk
(NNP) was named Premier. After subsequent floor crossings the ANC now holds
22 seats and the NNP 10 in the 42 seat provincial legislature. The ANC has
continued to operate in coalition with the NNP, which still holds the
premiership. But the ANC dominates the cabinet. KwaZulu-Natal: In the 1994 elections the IFP won 41 of the 81 seats in the provincial legislature. In the 1999 elections the IFP won 41.9% of the vote, the ANC 39.38% and the DP 8.16%. Since no party won a majority of the seats, the ANC and IFP agreed to a coalition government. In the April 2003 floor crossing the ANC gained 3 seats, giving it a plurality or 35 seats against the IFP with 32 seats. There has been considerable tension between the ANC and IFP in the province but the two continue to operate in coalition.
Municipal
government Local government consists of 284 municipalities set up in 2000 prior to municipal elections held in December of that year. Both the executive and legislative authority of a municipality is vested in its Municipal Council. This democratic transformation of local government involved the redrawing of municipal boundaries, the determination of the number of wards and councilors in each municipality, the establishment of new types of municipal councils and the redrafting of electoral laws.[1] Municipal governments are constitutionally mandated “to ensure the provision of services to communities in a sustainable manner.” Thus they play a key role in such areas as housing, electricity, water, garbage removal and infrastructure development. The December 2000 municipal elections resulted in the ANC being the majority party in 170 municipal councils, the IFP 36, the DA 18, and the UCDC 1. In twelve municipal councils two parties tied. The ANC was one of the parties in all ties, eleven with the DA and one with the IFP. The 15 day floor crossing period in October 2002 resulted in the DA loosing 417 councilors including 340 to the NNP and 51 to the ANC. The NNP gained 14 other seats from other political parties. The ANC gained a total of 128 seats. The Cape Town municipal council passed to the control of the ANC/NNP coalition from the DA. Elections
2004
South Africa’s third democratic elections for the National Assembly and provincial legislatures are set for April 14, 2004. The elections are run by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), a permanent body created by the Constitution to promote and safeguard democracy in South Africa. The IEC is tasked with the impartial management of free and fair elections. The voter registration cut off date was February 11. According to the IEC, 20,674,296 South Africans have registered to vote in election, over 2.5 million more than were registered in 1999.[2] The election manifestos of the ANC and the major
opposition parties focus on the same issues: the economy, poverty, jobs and
unemployment, housing, services, crime and HIV/AIDS. The ANC is the largest political party. It also maintains its alliance with the trade union federation COSATU and the South African Communist Party. In January at the ANC’s election launch rally in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal ANC President Thabo Mbeki stressed both the achievements in South Africa’s first ten years of democracy but also the ongoing challenges. “You can still see many squatter camps around Durban. This means despite the progress we’ve made in regard to housing, the problem still remains,” said Mbeki. commenting on shacks he had seen coming to the rally. He also stressed the need to fight poverty. “We have to commit to strengthen the economy so that we can attack more vigorously the problem of poverty.” He proposed an expanded public works program that would create one million jobs. “All of our development programmes must be carried out in a way that ensures all of our people get jobs.”[3] A major feature of this election is the tension between the ANC and the IFP. It appears unlikely that IFP members will be appointed, or will accept appointment, to cabinet positions in the national government formed after the elections. The ANC is seeking to achieve a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly and control over the two provinces in which it does not currently have a majority: KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape. The IFP and the DA have formed a “Coalition for Change” and are also seeking control over KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape. The DA will seek to increase its representation in the National Assembly and show that it is the main alternative to the ANC. The IFP is seeking to increase its percentage of the national vote. The small parties will seek to get enough of the votes nationwide to maintain their membership in Parliament. The ANC is expected to remain a majority of seats in seven provincial legislatures: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West and Northern Cape.
Two provinces, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, are being hotly contested. In the Western Cape the ANC hopes to win 51% of the vote by itself or with its coalition partner the NNP. The DA has also set its goal as winning 51% of the vote. The Western Cape is differently demographically than most of South Africa. According to the 2001 census the majority of the population, 53.9% are Coloured. Africans are 26.7% of the population and whites are 18.4%. Africans, who have been moving in the Western Cape, were 20.9% of the population in 1996. Some observers believe the increase in the percentage of Africans (most of whom are Xhosa speakers) favors the ANC. The number of registered votes in the province has increased by 19% over the 1999 election. One question is how well the NNP, the ANC’s coalition partner in the province, will do. In the 1999 provincial elections the ANC won 42.07%, the NNP 39.39% and DP 11.91%. But in the 2000 municipal elections in the province, in which the NNP did not run, the DA won 49.88%. “We are quite convinced that we will win. We don't expect the NNP to do very well,” said Theuns Botha, who is expected to become Premier if the DA wins a majority.[4] The ANC has announced that even if it does win an outright majority it will maintain its coalition with the NNP in the province. In a January 19 statement the ANC stated that “The ANC-NNP relationship of cooperation remains intact, and will continue after the 2004 election… This relationship does not preclude either the ANC or NNP from running their own election campaigns to seek the maximum support possible in any part of the country.”
In KwaZulu-Natal provincial elections will be hard fought. The ANC seeks to win the province outright but would have to increase its vote significantly to do so. In the 1999 provincial elections the IFP beat the ANC by just 2.5%. The number of registered voters has increased by nearly 11% over 1999. Even if the ANC increases its percentage it may not win an absolute majority which would allow it to govern alone. The IFP and the DA have formed an alliance and IFP leader Buthelezi and DA leader Tony Leon canvassed voters together.[5] The IFP/DA alliance hopes to get 51% of the vote and form a coalition government in the province - the two parties combined got approximately 50% of the vote in 1999. The IFP has indicated it will not continue to operate a coalition government with the ANC. Some 8% of the population of the province is Indian and their vote could impact the outcome. The ANC has complained that because of intimidation it cannot campaign in many areas and that IFP posters have been pasted over ANC posters. Several ANC workers have been killed.[6] The IEC has deployed twenty mediators to the province. The major political parties are seeking to increase their strength outside their core constituencies. The DA, which has received a large percent of its supports from whites, launched in election manifesto in Soweto. The ANC is also reaching out to whites, and is campaigning in areas in KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape where it is not the dominant party. Constitution
and the Constitutional Court The Constitutional Court plays a role in interpreting
South Africa's constitution similar to that of the U.S. Supreme Court. But it is a unique institution whose
important decisions have already made noteworthy contributions to the
protection of citizen rights. The 1993 an interim constitution was adopted
and in 1996 a final constitution was adopted which went into effect in
February 1997. The interim and final constitutions include a
Bill of Rights (see Appendix I). These rights are enforceable by the
courts. Rights guaranteed include
freedom of speech and
expression, religion and the right to assembly and petition. Every person is
equal before the law and is guaranteed the right to life and human
dignity. Nobody can be detained
without trial. Torture and cruel or inhuman
punishment are prohibited.
Discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, age or
disability is prohibited. A series of
social and economic rights in the final Constitution include the right to
adequate housing and of children to shelter.
It is the government’s duty to take reasonable legislative and other
measures, within its available resources, to achieve the progressive
realization of these rights. A specific
provision allows for affirmative action measures. When interpreting the Constitution,
the Court is required to consider international human rights law and may
consider the law of other democratic countries. Many of the judges have a strong human rights background. The President of the Court, Justice Arthur Chaskalson, in 1978 helped established the Legal Resources Centre, which sought to use law to pursue justice and human rights even under the apartheid state, and he served as director for 15 years. Justice Richard Goldstone headed a commission of inquiry into political violence established in 1991. Justice Albie Sachs, a political activist and detainee, went into exile in 1966 and in 1988 was almost killed by a South African government car bomb while working in Mozambique. Justice ZM Yacoob, who has been blind since youth, represented members of the UDF at the Delmas Treason Trial (1985-1989). Landmark cases
Institutions
Supporting Democracy The Constitution establishes a series of institutions to support constitutional democracy. South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC): The Constitution establishes the SAHRC and its powers are further delineated in the Human Rights Commission Act of 1994. The SAHRC works with government, civil society and individuals, both nationally and abroad, to fulfill its Constitutional mandate and serves as both a watchdog and a visible route through which people can access their rights. The role of the HRC is to promote respect for human rights and a culture of human rights; promote the protection, development and attainment of human rights; and monitor and assess the observance of human rights in the Republic. The Human Rights Commission has the powers, as regulated by national legislation, necessary to perform its functions, including the power to investigate and to report on the observance of human rights; to take steps to secure appropriate redress where human rights have been violated; to carry out research; and to educate. Independent Electoral Commission (IEC): The IEC was established in the 1993 Constitution to oversee the first democratic elections and is included in the final Constitution. The IEC, as described on its web site, “is a permanent body created by the Constitution to promote and safeguard democracy in South Africa. Although publicly funded and accountable to parliament, the Commission is independent of the government. Its immediate task is the impartial management of free and fair elections at all levels of government.” Commission on Gender Equality (CGE): The Constitution specifically grants the CGE powers to promote respect for gender equality and the protection, development and attainment of gender equality. The Commission functions include gathering information and conducting education on gender equality; monitoring and evaluating policies and practices of State organs, statutory and public bodies, as well as the private sector, to promote gender equality; evaluating Acts in force, or proposed by Parliament, affecting or likely to affect gender; investigating any gender-related complaints; liaising with institutions, bodies or authorities with similar objectives; and conducting research to further the objective of the Commission. Conclusion South Africa has an extremely progressive constitution that enshrines democracy and human and social rights. There is vibrant debate and opposition political parties openly criticize the governing party. It has a vibrant civil society and a free press. Much progress has been made in democratization of the state and society. The African National Congress remains by far the largest
political party in South Africa and will undoubtedly come out on top in the
forthcoming elections. But the other political parties have significant
strength at the provincial and municipal level, especially in KwaZulu-Natal and
Western Cape and may beat the ANC in these provinces in the April 2004
elections. The major parties are seeking to increase their support beyond
their traditional constituencies. And the parties are campaigning on the
issues – poverty, jobs, unemployment and AIDS. The ANC points to its
considerable achievements and programs strengthen the economy and to meet
people’s needs. The opposition parties campaign on what still needs to be
done. Democracy is alive and well in South Africa. -------- Richard Knight is a New York City based consultant on Africa, human rights and economic justice. He previously worked at the American Committee on Africa/The Africa Fund. His web site is www.richardknight.com. Acknowledgements
and Sources This paper was produced
based on numerous sources outlined below. In many cases I have borrowed
liberally from the phrasing of the sources. - RK South African government
sources including: The South African Constitution, the South African Human
Rights Commission (http://www.sahrc.org.za/),
the Independent Electoral Commission (http://www.elections.org.za/),
Parliament (http://www.parliament.gov.za/)and
various other government web pages and sites available from http://www.gov.za/. Various provincial web
sites were also consulted. Political party web sites including: ANC (http://www.anc.org.za/), the DA (http://www.da.org.za/), the IFP (http://www.ifp.org.za/), the NNP (http://www.natweb.co.za/), the PAC (http://www.paca.org.za/) and the UDM (http://www.udm.org.za/). Many of these
sites include the full text of their election manifesto. Other sources include: Human Rights Watch,
the Parliamentry Monitoring Group (http://www.pmg.org.za/),
the F W de Kerk Foundation (http://www.fwdklerk.org.za/), the Institute
for a Democratic South Africa (IDSA) (http://www.idasact.org.za/)
and various press sources footnoted at the end of this paper. |
[*] For political party names and acronyms see table Membership in the National Assembly by Party on page 4.
[1] See the web site of the Independent Electoral Commission (http://www.elections.org.za/).
[2] Over 19 Percent Increase in Wcape Voters, Sapa, February 24 2004 and Four Million First-Time Voters Registered, Sapa, February 24 2004.
[3] Mbeki Offers Hope to The Poor, SAPA, January 11, 2004; Mbeki’s address transcribe by RK from a video on the ANC’s election web site.
[4] Western Cape Is Ours: DA, SAPA, January 21, 2004
[5] Parties
Crash Through Race Barrier, Sunday Times
(Johannesburg)
March 14, 2004
[6] ANC Aims For 51 Percent Majority In Western Cape, SAPA, January 14, 2004.