Functioning of the Electoral System

¶ … Functioning of the Electoral System of South Africa The history of South Africa represents one of the most troubled aspects of our contemporary world. It marks an aspect of the past which pointed out to the difficult situations a nation has gone through especially in its struggle to end an era of apartheid and start its road towards democracy. In general terms, it is often stated that the electoral system represents the voice of the nation, of the demos.

This is why in every democratic system and in every emerging democracy the criteria for assessing the degree of democratic freedom is often the elections held in those countries. The South African case is relevant for pointing out the fact that despite the attempt to increase the level of democracy in the country, there are no actual visible signs of the improvement in the lives of its citizens.

More precisely, "even if many of the shanties have been replaced by matchbox houses and the well-dressed shoppers in the malls are no longer exclusively white. (Pearce, 2004). Therefore, it can be said that despite the attempts to improve the situation in South Africa, there is a sense of disregard for the system as a whole, a lack of confidence for the political framework and in general a lack of interest for the future of the country. There are particular reasons which motivate this aspect.

On the one hand, the troubled history of the country has made people become reluctant to any possible change that could take place. In this sense, " when Nelson Mandela was President of South Africa, he tried to make all South Africans - no matter what their skin color is - feel at home in South Africa. Things have changed a little since Thabo Mbeki is President.

Thabo Mbeki rather emphasizes the concept of Black Nationalism, which makes the white minority rather feel uncomfortable" (Klemann, 2004) Therefore it can be said that "apartheid officially no longer exists, but its legacy is plain to see. Those who led the struggle are now those who preside over that legacy" (Pearce, 2004). Thus, taking into account the fact that there is a tendency to increase the pressures of the black population, there can be little discussion on the way in which the electorate could be equally represented.

On the other hand, the electoral system is relatively difficult to understand for a country in which the democratic exercise is relatively new for the population. In this sense, the system in itself is based on the voluntary registering of the individuals willing to vote. Therefore, the voters must be informed and aware of the fact that in order to have their voices heard, they are obliged to follow a relatively complex procedure.

More precisely, "in South Africa the responsibility of registering to vote lies with the individual, who must first possess a specific form of identification (an official, bar-coded identity book) and then apply to be included on the voters' roll by registering at a local office of the Department of Home Affairs.

While South Africans could register to vote at any Home Affairs office at any time up until the election was called, most people either did not know about or were unable to take advantage of this opportunity" (Piombo, 2004) Therefore, the electoral system is not fully adapted to an emerging democracy because there is no electoral education people can have access to.

In terms of outcomes and successes, it can be said that the small voter turnout, especially in the recent elections of 2004 when only 54% of the population with the right to vote actually exercised it (Pimbo, 2004) it is of little importance the actual result. The rule of Thabo Mbeki has been certified twice in the Presidential office in 1999 and 2004. Nonetheless, in both occasions, the fact that the ruling party, the African National Congress, has held an undisputed majority was obvious in the electoral results.

Bu comparison, "the opposition share of the vote has declined since 1994" (Pimbo, 2004). Therefore, there is little evidence of an important opposition force, an aspect which limits the democratic process. There are other issues which are relevant for the electoral system in South Africa. Given the historical background, representation of the minorities is a crucial matter. According to statistics, it may seem that women are represented at the level of the government rather consistently. Thus, "South Africa has a Cabinet consisting of 45% percent women representation. Our Deputy President is a woman.

Woman Ministers hold key portfolios, such as Foreign Affairs, Justice, Health, Education, Housing, Public Administration, Communication, Agriculture and Land Affairs" (Saaiman, 2008) Moreover, the official stand of the South African government is underlining the fact that the target for women's representation is 50% (Saaiman, 2008). Due to the difficult system of voting, there seems to be a lack of interest for a participatory democracy. From this point-of-view, the government, as the basic elements.