Essay - Modern South Africa: Electoral and Institutional Arrangements, Party Competition, and...

Modern South Africa: Electoral and Institutional Arrangements, Party Competition, and Checks and Balances in Government

***** Africa's government is a constitution*****l democracy based upon a system of proportional representation. In other words, its national legislature is a parliament, with two houses, the National Assembly ***** ***** National Council of Provinces (NCOP). The parliament called the National Assembly awards seats to each political party based upon that party's proportionate support in the ***** election. Elections for the ***** Assembly are held every five years. ***** second general democratic post-apartheid election ***** 1999 in yielded a m*****jority for the African National Congress (ANC) Party, the party famously lead by the impr*****oned Nelson Mandela during ***** years of apartheid that disenfranchised most of South Africa's majority black population ("Government in South Africa," SouthAfricainfo, 2008).

In addition ***** the ANC, South Africa has sixteen registered ***** parties under the Independent Electoral Commission, spanning a variety ***** political points of view with a v*****riety of regional affiliations (South ********** Political Parties, SouthAfricainfo, 2008). This diversity ***** parties is fairly typical of other nations with proportionate representation systems, such as Israel and Germany, to name just ***** examples. The *****s of South Africa's parties are particularly diverse. For example, there is the relatively moderate Democratic Alliance, a more free-market oriented party in contr*****t ***** the ***** socialistic ANC. The most vocal rival to the ANC is the Pan Africanist ***** (PAC), a radical breakaway party from the more mainstream ANC that began in 1959. "Influenced by the Africanist ideals of Kwame Nkrumah, it promotes the return of the l***** to ***** indigenous people" of South Africa (South Africa's Political Parties, SouthAfricainfo, 2008).

Examples ***** small parties representing relatively minor minority interests are that of the African Christian *****, which was *****med with the intent ***** representing all African Christians. It has two seats in the parliament like the Minority Party, which represents South Africa's Indian population "Apart ***** its two seats in ***** National Assembly, the party is also represented in the Durban metropolitan council" (South ***** Political Parties, **********, *****). Because South Africa ***** so racially and tribally diverse, a ***** representation system ***** deemed ***** most suitable way ***** articulate all of its varied political interests ***** affiliations.

The South ***** President is elected ***** the ***** Assembly from among its members and like the British Prime Minister thus is expected to come from the majority party, in this case the *****. The president functions as the chief executive and head of state. He *****s a cabinet which he ap***** of a deputy ***** and twenty-***** ministers overseeing different functions of the government. These cabinet members may introduce legislation into the General ***** as may the deputy minister, or a member of ***** National Assembly committee ("Government in ***** *****," SouthAfrica*****fo, 2008)..

The president is limited to serving two five-year terms in office. Constitutionally, he is given ***** power to *****po*****t the deputy ***** and ministers, assign them "their powers and functions, and may