EISA Roundtable: Strengthening Democracy through Party Coalition Building

Vineyard Hotel, Claremont, Cape Town, 19 June 2003

Conceptual understanding of political coalitions in South Africa: An integration of concepts and practices

The paper revisits the topic of South African coalition politics by analyzing the ideological and theoretical underpinnings behind this universally accepted democratic convention. The paper aligns the coalition theory (the theory of how and why coalitions form), its definitions/concepts, with coalition practices both past and present pursued by South African political parties. The patterns of coalition politics in South Africa are briefly mentioned to offer empirical evidence, though preliminary, in support of the theories. It merely attempts to provide a conceptual understanding behind some of the more recent voluntary power-sharing partnerships formed in the South African political milieu. To put it simply this is a wide-ranging, all-encompassing analysis mostly on coalition theories, but it also links it with an analysis on the politics of South African coalitions. The paper will include topics on the following themes: types, functions, coalition governance and formation processes.

An Assessment of the Legislative Framework for Political Party Coalition in South Africa

Wole Olaleye download PDF

Coalition politics is an inevitable practice in any parliamentary democracy. South Africa multiparty system, with more than a dozen parties in National Assembly, provides greater possibility for coalition formation, especially in legislatures and cabinets. The recent developments in the political landscape - the withdrawal of New National Party (NNP) from Democratic Alliance (DA), the amendment to the Constitution which resulted in elected party representatives crossing the floor to another party and the formation of new political parties, provides the rationale for assessing the legislative framework guiding coalition politics in South Africa. This paper is an exploratory attempt that seeks to analyze South African Constitution from the perspective of coalition and its interplay with the electoral system, political party policy, and parliamentary procedures. The analyses show that South Africa Constitution is silent on regulation guiding coalition politics. However, the recent amendment to the Membership Bill of national and provincial legislatures provides a glimpse into the partial legal framework guiding party coalition in South Africa.

Political Party Coalition Building and Splitting in Post-Apartheid South Africa: Effects on Representative Democracy and Party System

Denis Kadima download PDF

Political party coalitions in post-Apartheid South Africa have evolved from forced marriages under the framework of the constitutionally-entrenched Governments of National (and provincial) Unity (GNU), to marriages of convenience, which became commonplace particularly since the second democratic elections of 1999, with political parties coming together to achieve some common goals. It is observable that the coming together of political parties and the eventual coalition splits occurred as political parties and leaders pursued their desire to access or maintain political power at the national and/or provincial levels.

This paper seeks to investigate the effects of coalition building and splitting on representative democracy and the party system in South Africa. It reviews some of the major party coalitions which took place in the post-Apartheid era and determines what brought political parties together, why an alliance has survived over many years, why others have fallen apart one by one, and what have been the consequences of post-Apartheid party coalition building and break up on representative democracy and party system in South Africa.

Coalition politics under the tropics: office seekers, power makers, nation building: A case study of Mauritius

Ramakrishna Sithanen download PDF

Although coalition politics in Mauritius share some characteristics with other countries where coalition governments exist, there are some significant differences. At times the contrast can be stark. What determines coalition formation, its governance, its conflict management and resolution aspects and its termination is a delicate interplay among many factors. As suggested by political theory, institutions play an important role. Political actors adapt to institutional constraints when framing their coalition strategies. Probably, the most important of these institutions is the electoral system. Party elites in Mauritius also have to recognise the diverse ethnic outlook of the population and the need for all groups to feel integrated in the system, thus avoiding political alienation. Then, there are the behavioural strategies of parties that range from the motivation to be in office to the desire to influence policy. Finally there is need to take into account the personalities of the major players, especially when they are mercurial, charismatic and ambitious and would like to vie for the top position. In a small society, settling political scores can also be a major determinant of coalition politics.