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| Title: | A systematic view on the electoral reform debate in South Africa |
| Authors: | Krennerich, Michael De Ville, Jacques |
| Year: | 1997 |
| Periodical: | Verfassung und Recht in Übersee |
| Volume: | 30 |
| Issue: | 1 |
| Pages: | 26-41 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic term: | South Africa |
| Subject: | elections |
| Abstract: | Issues surrounding the relationship between voters and representatives and constituency representation played a prominent role in the South African electoral reform debate, rekindled within the constitution-writing process (1994-1996). In South Africa's first democratic elections (1994), a pure proportional system was applied. On both the academic and political level there is consensus on the strong and weak points of the existing electoral system (namely high representativeness versus lack of constituency representation), the objectives of possible electoral reform (improvement of the voter-representative relationship within the principle of proportional representation) and the spectrum of technical means to reach these objectives (introduction of constituency elements). However, reform proposals which aimed at supporting the individual accountability of members of parliament and constituency representation without giving up the widely accepted principle of proportional representation failed. Within the rather short constitution-writing process, the decision on the electoral system was a political one under time pressure. In order not to incur the risk of undesired side effects of electoral reform, the ANC and the National Party maintained the existing electoral system at least for the 1999 elections. Notes, ref., sum. (p. 5). |
