Suchergebnisse

Uncertainty concerning South Africa's future political development prevailed during the period of transition to majority rule. A new political playing field was created by the elections held in 1994 for the National Assembly and the Provincial Legislatures. These were the first inclusive elections in South Africa based on the principle of universal franchise. The old regime lost its ruling power and its long-time enemies were now the rulers. The party system of the South African polity experienced an influx of new actors. With the new actors came new actions, interactions and alignments among the various political parties, but also new interactions with the electorate and government. Many questions were raised concerning future changes and trends in the party system once the actors had settled. (...) Identifying changes and trends in voter participation, fractionalisation, the number and spectrum of political parties, the radical and functional orientation, as well as the polarisation of the party system and voter volatility provide important information on the political situation in South Africa as well as future prospects for the South African polity. (Politeia/DÜI)

This discussion on the South African party system looks at the past, present and possible future of the party system in terms of a number of indicators, notably: voter participation, number of political parties, competition, ideological distance, characteristics of political parties, voter volatility, change and stability. In the past the nature of the party system was to a large extent predetermined by legislation as an external factor. The repeal of legislation that affected the party system will undoubtedly lead to changes, but it will take some time to determine the impact of all the new forces on the party system.