Issued by Christina Teichmann, Deputy Chair of the FW de Klerk Foundation, on 27/04/2024

 *A shorter version of this article was first published as an opinion piece in BizNews on 21 April 2024

On 27 April, South Africa celebrates 30 years of constitutional democracy. Freedom Day reminds us that since 1994 the right to vote can be enjoyed by all South Africans. The 7th General Elections, to be held on 29 May, are in many respects of special significance for South Africa’s relatively young democracy.

Firstly, it is the first time since 1994 that the ANC might fall under 50%, marking the end of a one-party dominant system. Secondly, it will see the implementation of a new Electoral Law that allows independent candidates to contest elections in the National Assembly and provincial legislatures. Thirdly, never before in the democratic history of South Africa were voters confronted with such a vast number of choices in terms of political parties and independent candidates.

While some argue that the increase in options is a sign of a vibrant and dynamic democracy, others argue that it creates confusion and a choice overload for voters, promotes a further fragmentation of the political landscape and ultimately creates new challenges and volatilities for South Africa’s new era of coalition governance, on the national and provincial level, that the country is about to enter into.

On 10 April, the Independent Electoral Commission published the final list of candidates contesting the General Elections on 29 May, listing 52 parties as having national candidates. This is a significant increase from previous elections. In comparison, in 1994 voters had the choice between just 19 political parties, while ten years later the number of contesting political parties had grown to 29 respectively. Drawing parallels to economics and the theory of a Free Market Economy, an increase of options and service providers is generally seen as a positive development that benefits the consumers as it provides more options to choose from and keeps prices down.

The same could be said for a functioning and participatory democracy. The more political choices that exist, the better for the electorate as it provides voters with the opportunity to choose from the broad spectrum of political parties – choosing the one that best fits their interests and political identity.

Another advantage is – at least in theory – that a competitive political environment keeps political office bearers in check and makes them more responsive and accountable. This theory certainly holds true as, for example, one-party systems, such as China or North Korea, usually operate in an authoritarian context, where individual’s human rights and liberties have little traction. South Africans have learned the hard way that a one-party dominant system does not produce the envisaged outcome and they are now prepared to ditch old loyalties to the ANC. However, this observation should not lead to the conclusion that the more political parties contest an election, or are represented in Parliament, the better governed or more democratic a country is.

Political Parties – mediators between the electorate and government

The question arises, at which point does the increasing number of political parties contesting the elections pose more risks and challenges for a young democracy than advantages.

It is indisputable that political parties play a crucial role in a democracy as they fulfil some vital functions as intermediaries between the electorate and government. For instance, they solicit and articulate public policy priorities and civic needs as identified by members and supporters. They also consolidate and translate public opinions into viable policy options and feed these into the political process via their representatives in public office.

Moreover, political parties educate citizens and voters in the functioning of the political and electoral system. They also activate and mobilize citizens into participating in political decision-making.

In order to fulfil these functions, political parties require resources – not only in monetary terms, but also in terms of know-how and expertise. It will be interesting to see how many of the newly formed parties, some of whose candidates will be elected into public office, have the capability to live up to the role they ought to play.

Another question worth asking is how different or similar the political viewpoints of some of the newly formed political parties are and if it would not make sense to merge some of the smaller parties, with similar convictions, into one party that would then have more resources available to perform the above mentioned functions and garner more support.

A new era of multi-party democracy and coalition governance

Although the high number of political parties and independent candidates on the ballot paper may lead to more interest in the elections and may motivate more voters to go to the polls, it may also affect voter turn-out adversely as voters may feel overwhelmed and struggle to choose the party they wish to vote for.

The long list of voting options will also result in a higher number of smaller parties to enter national parliament and provincial legislatures, making policy – and political decision-making – more complex and fickle. The configuration of national and provincial governments will be determined by the number of votes and seats needed. Pragmatism and strategic thinking, rather than ideological compatibility, often prevails during this phase of coalition building. As the rather disappointing experience with coalition governments on the municipal level has shown, smaller parties might become kingmakers, providing them with more political power than they have been given by voters at the ballot box.

Different from other countries, such as Germany where coalition governments are quite common, South Africa does not have a minimum entry threshold that would keep smaller parties, that fall below a certain percentage of votes, out of public office. For example, in Germany parties must achieve at least five per cent of the vote (the five percent hurdle) in order to be represented in parliament. This helps to avoid complicating the formation of majorities through the presence of too many smaller parties, who might be able to wield unproportional power and political influence.

In South Africa the entry requirements in terms of numbers is rather low. A political party requires just about 0.25% of the vote – which translates into ca.37.000-50.000 votes depending on the voter turn-out – to secure a seat in the National Assembly. The introduction of a 2% hurdle in future (for example), might help South Africans avoid a situation where parliamentary processes and decision making become too difficult and cumbersome due to too many divergent views and self-interests.

The link between social cleavages and new political parties

The increase in the number of political parties in South Africa can also be interpreted as a reflection of the emergence of new social cleavages within society, a kind of fragmentation into different groups with distinctly different and sometimes opposing interests and needs. Taking this thought further, the increase might be linked to a decline in social cohesion and unity between South Africans.

The extreme inequality and dire economic situation that many South Africans find themselves in, exacerbated by high unemployment, high levels of crime, poor service delivery (in terms of housing, education and health) deepens existing social cleavages, promotes the emergence of new ones and provides fertile ground for the rise of populist parties and charismatic leaders. Even political conflicts outside the country, such as the war in Ukraine or the Middle East, contribute to further divisions amongst South Africans. The reverse argument can also be made that new political parties, especially populist ones, actively promote the emergence of new social cleavages that they then focus on and try to garner support from.

Political parties are indispensable for a vibrant and functioning democracy and it is a positive sign that South Africa’s electoral system is open for the new kids on the block. The upcoming General Elections will be a test case for the new Electoral Law and will mark (most probably) the end of a one-party dominant system.

Thirty years after the first democratic election, South Africa is about to enter a new era of multi-party democracy and coalition governance on a national and provincial level. Let’s hope that the political parties involved in shaping this new era put the interests of the people and the country first.