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| Title: | Party Systems in the SADC Region: In Defence of the Dominant Party System |
| Author: | Karume, Shumbana |
| Year: | 2004 |
| Periodical: | Journal of African Elections |
| Volume: | 3 |
| Issue: | 1 |
| Pages: | 42-61 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic term: | Southern Africa |
| Subjects: | one-party systems democracy Politics and Government |
| Abstract: | One of the most pertinent challenges faced by the emerging democracies in Africa is the rapid movement towards one-party dominant political systems. The author studies the detrimental implications of dominant party systems and explains the distinguishing features of a de jure and a de facto dominant party system using examples from the SADC region. Although dominance is, in many instances, created by forms of coercion and electoral manipulation, there are some parameters of politics that do indeed aid dominance in democratically acceptable ways. These include consent or even indifference on the part of the citizenry, real electoral support, the need to promote national reconciliation and nation building, the non-manipulative capacity of the dominant party including commitment to competitive politics and party performance, and a fragmented and weak opposition. The paper examines the ways in which these factors function and discusses their relevance in terms of aiding dominance democratically. As examples of one-party dominant systems it uses the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa, SWAPO in Namibia, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) in Tanzania and the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) in Botswana. The central argument maintains that certain dominant party systems can function within and respect the essential parameters of constitutional democracy. Nonetheless, a number of important political questions must be addressed about what such dominance means for the future prospects of democracy in those countries. Bibliogr., notes, sum. [Journal abstract, edited] |
