Currently, there are talks again about the possibility of changing the country’s electoral system to a real constituency system.
South Africa used the British Westminster system until 1994, which only worked on the constituency.
Previously, the left-wing Dr. Frederick van Zyl-Slabbert also investigated the adaptation of the South African electoral system as it stands at present. He has already reported in his Electoral Task Team report that a real constituency system can benefit the ANC by getting up to 80% of the seats in parliament. This will sweep all smaller political parties off the scene, or perhaps at most, several wards in municipalities.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) is now playing into the hands of the ANC in that they also seem to want to change the electoral system into a real constituency system.
The moment when the ANC, as ruling party, realizes that they can lose power, they can change the electoral system to benefit the party and then the constituency system of winner-takes-all, will be the most favorable to the party, warns Dr. Pieter Groenewald of FF Plus, who achieved his doctorate on the theme of the South African national electoral system.
A feature and significant disadvantage of the constituency electoral system is that a party can rule even with a minority. In 1948 and 1953 the National Party ruled with the majority constituencies, but with a minority of the votes. It is precisely this election system that Robert Mugabe holds in Zimbabwe. The boundaries of constituencies are manipulated to benefit the ruling party, says Dr. Groenewald.
Read the original article in Afrikaans on Die Vryburger
South Africa Today – South Africa News
