Perhaps the combination of religious rhetoric and secular laws is a winning electoral strategy.
Articles on Democratic Alliance
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In South Africa coalitions are weaponised as extensions of elections.
Extra-parliamentary politics forms part of a deeper defence that will give democracy more resilience in South Africa.
The South African electorate is becoming less tied to race and identity-based voting but are increasingly making a wider evaluation of the performance of political incumbents.
Metros may be a graveyard for political ambition. But if parties or individuals succeed, the rewards are considerable.
The election results raise the real possibility that the ANC could be looking at another defeat in the 2024 general elections.
Turnout was low. But not equally so across the board. Patterns show it was not a statement by all voters – it was a message from ANC supporters.
The 2021 election will define for citizens important aspects of South Africa’s political future. What is the governing ANC’s future, and what was the impact of President Ramaphosa on this election?
The rise in political parties and the explosion in the number of independents means that it’s no longer simply a race among the three major parties.
The Democratic Alliance posters were not a bolt from the blue. They were consistent with messages the party’s current leadership has been sending out for some time.
South Africa’s political parties would do well to learn from Ireland, where the three largest political parties negotiated a coalition treaty that stipulated mechanisms for conflict resolution.
It’s not convincing to argue that the political parties would not be able to campaign as they have done in the past.
Leon mulls over the Democratic Alliance’s biggest challenge: ‘how to maintain its majority support among minorities, and increase its meagre voter share among the black majority’.
The existing electoral system has attracted extensive criticism for rendering elected representatives unaccountable to those who elected them.
The trouble is that the ANC’s branch structure, designed initially as a means of grassroots democracy at work, is in a mess.
The problem for the Democratic Alliance is not one of policy. There is real substance in its commitment to substituting racial criteria for overcoming historical disadvantage.
Local government elections in South Africa have traditionally been characterised by low voter turnout.
Each black person and woman may be an individual but, because they are black and women, they face obstacles which whites and men don’t.
The bigger parties which contest elections at all three levels would benefit the most – but voters might split their votes.
The government was initially praised for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic but powerful interests could now be pushing its containment plans off course
Top contributors
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Professor of Sociology, University of the Witwatersrand
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Political Scientist, University of the Western Cape
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Professor in Political Science, University of South Africa
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Professor of Political Studies, University of Johannesburg
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Professor of Public Affairs, Tshwane University of Technology
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Professor of Urban Governance, University of the Witwatersrand
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Chief Research Specialist in Democracy and Citizenship at the Human Science Research Council and a Research Fellow Centre for African Studies, University of the Free State
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Professor of Law, University of the Witwatersrand
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Senior lecturer, University of Edinburgh
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Visiting Professor and Professor Emeritus, University of the Witwatersrand
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Professor, Department of Political Sciences, University of South Africa
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Lecturer, Nelson Mandela University
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Associate Professor, University of Utah
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Professor School of Architecture and Planning, University of the Witwatersrand
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Emeritus Associate Professor in Public Law, UCT. Visiting Adjunct Professor, WITS School of Governance; Director, Africa Programme, University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, University of Cambridge