South Africa has since 1994 used a two-tier compensatory member PR system for National Assembly elections. However, it has since the mid-nineties been discussed if the system needs amendment to enable it to deliver the kind of accountable parliament South Africa so direly needs.
Three government reviews have been conducted (the Electoral Task Team, the Ministerial Action Committee, and now the Electoral Reform Consultation Panel). All three reviews have resulted in divergent majority and minority proposals. Remarkably, the Minister of Home Affairs and Cabinet after the first two reviews accepted the minority proposal to keep the system already in place. What will happen now, with the ERCP’s two divergent reports at government’s and parliament’s tables?
My project aims to document and analyze this process, which will take months, if not years, to conclude. The project will compare all three review processes attempting to answer questions like these: Why the similarities between the processes? What role did panel members with links to the IEC play? Were members leaning towards the ANC catering for the party’s political interests?
And then, eventually, is it possible to argue that one of the three reviews’ options might be the best electoral system for South Africa?