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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Local Elections and Local Government in Southern Africa
Author:Hartmann, ChristofISNI
Year:2004
Periodical:Afrika Spectrum
Volume:39
Issue:2
Pages:223-248
Language:English
Geographic term:Southern Africa
Subjects:elections
electoral systems
local councils
Politics and Government
Abstract:With the recent wave of democratization in Sub-Saharan Africa a new interest in elected local councils has appeared. It is also increasingly underlined by research, both from the field of development theory/politics and from comparative research on democratization processes. In this paper, these broader arguments are narrowed down by concentrating on local electoral rules, with a geographical focus on those SADC countries where local elections are held. The paper presents data for all Southern African countries on the types of elected bodies at subnational level of government, the composition of local councils, the regularity and simultaneity of local and national elections, the electoral systems and the rules governing candidature at the local level. Electoral rules are just one set of institutions that matter in local politics, and there is no doubt that other variables (such as local administration, resource allocation or capacity building) are equally important. But the assumption is that local electoral institutions are relevant for the democratization of both local and national politics, and should thus merit closer scrutiny. The comparative study of different countries offers additional insights into similarities or specific constraints and problems that countries face in organizing local elections, as well as into the institutional solutions that they eventually opted for. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. in English, German and French. (Also published in: Journal of African Elections, vol. 3, no. 1 (2004), p. 160-183, under the title 'Local elections in the SADC countries: a comparative analysis of local electoral institutions'.) [Journal abstract]
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