Elections and accountability in South Africa
By: Collette Schulz-Herzenberg
Series: ISS paper -- no. 188; ISS papers -- no. 188.
Publisher: Institute for Security Studies
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Tshwane (Pretoria), South Africa
Language: eng
Number of pages: 25
Description: This paper explores these different aspects of voter behaviour to assess whether elections can act as an effective accountability mechanism in South Africa. It finds that, while voters are willing to withdraw support from the incumbent party if they disapprove of its performance, they are unlikely to move their support to another party. Sanctioning government performance in the traditional sense is weak, making political accountability through elections more elusive. Paradoxically, the way in which political accountability currently manifests itself in the South African political system may actually lead to the entrenchment of one-party dominance, further reducing incentives for responsive and accountable governance by the incumbent party. The paper concludes that in the South African context electoral accountability relies less on the notion of sanctions as a means to punish government. Instead, greater attention should be given to the method of 'selection' as a means to control politicians. If this line of reasoning is adopted, elections can still act as an accountability mechanism and even as a sanctioning device. An accountability relationship can therefore be established when voters regard elections as an opportunity to choose among parties to select the best possible party on offer.
Notes: Caption title.

"June 2009."

Includes bibliographical references (p. 22-25).

Available online in HTML and PDF formats from ISS website. Adobe Acrobat Reader required to view PDF version.
Table of contents: title: The South African electorate; title: Sanctioning government; title: Trends in voter participation; title: Voter registration; title: Voter turnout; title: Party identification; title: The ANC's partisan coalition; title: Government performance evaluations; title: Economic evaluations : evaluating the economy; title: Bivariate relationships : economic evaluations; title: Egocentric vs. sociotropic economic evaluations; title: Retrospective vs. prospective economic evaluations; title: Simple versus mediated retrospective economic evaluations; title: General evaluations of direction of country and overall conditions; title: Summary; title: Political interest and awareness among voters; title: Variation in cognitive skills among South African voters; title: Dalton's typology : cognitive mobilisation and partisanship; title: Choosing among political parties; title: The inclusiveness of political parties; title: Party images and partisanship; title: Inclusiveness : a sufficient of necessary condition for partisanship?; title: The effects of exclusivity on partisanship; title: The effects of ambiguity on partisanship; title: The black African electorate; title: Party image evaluations and cognitive mobilisation; title: Summary; title: Conclusion : achieving accountability through elections?