Theme: Traditionalism, Political Parties and Democratic Governance
in Africa
Title: Political Parties and Democratic Governance- South Africa and
Zimbabwe.
By Bertha Chiroro
Paper presented at the UNISA Africa Day Conference 2 June 2005,
UNISA, Pretoria.
1
Introduction
Political parties are now part of the African political scene. One finds it
hard to envisage a political system without parties and how it would
function; even so can we imagine political systems without opposition
parties. However not all parties in the African context are committed to
democracy or democratic practices. Most remain stuck in their
traditional way of running their affairs that is, most of the times closed
and quite exclusionary. Women find it a challenge to penetrate the party
structures and ranks. Issues of succession remain an enigma in most
parties and internal party democracy remains a challenge amidst the
legacy of centralisation, which emanated from the liberation struggle.
However two developments are taking place in the region
(1) The increased realisation that political parties are at the core of
democratic governance. This has prompted the focus on the capacity
building of political parties, which includes their funding, and creating
an enabling environment for their existence.
(11) The increased involvement of civil society organisations in the
functioning of parties has led to the opening up of parties in the region to
be able to participate more with Women’s organisations labour unions,
students, churches and other rural organisations to influence policies.
The Institute for Democracy in South Africa’s (IDASA) application to the
high court for political parties to disclose their funding sources shows
how far civil society engagement has gone in order to open up political
party operations to public scrutiny.
African political parties are distinctive from western parties in their
evolution as well as institutionalisation.
2
They emerged in a non-
democratic setting. Nonetheless it is now generally accepted that the
existence of several competing political parties is a crucial characteristic
of a democratic regime in the SADC region and political contests are alive
and well. However this was not always the case, political parties were
considered to undermine democracy and were considered to be divisive
even along ethnic lines.
The one party system was considered by a number of African leaders as
the ideal African democracy. The truth is that as Africans, traditionally
we have not bothered about paying more attention to our opposition
parties and what makes them tick or fail to contribute to democracy and
governance. The natures of our dominant party political systems have
really made us concentrate more on the ruling party and less on the
opposition accept when we discuss the weaknesses of the opposition.
This paper examines the evolution and sustainability of political parties
in South Africa and Zimbabwe, with a special emphasis on the ruling
parties and the official opposition in both countries, the political culture
in which the parties have thrived and inculcated on to the populace, and
political parties contributions to democratic governance.
Political Parties and Party Systems.
The existence of political parties competing for power within a
framework of rules that guarantee equal chances for all is one of the
fundamental characteristics of pluralist western Democracy. I used to
think that political parties, are these power-grabbing individuals who
have nothing to do with governance. But Sartori (1976:64) gives us a
definition of a political party as a group of people that is capable of
placing through elections, candidates for public office. Edmund Burke
defined a political party as a body of men united, for promoting by their
joint endeavours the national interest upon some particular principle in
which they are all agreed. Furthermore Anthony Downs (1957) defined a
3
party as a team of men seeking to control government apparatus by
gaining office in a duly contested election. The emphasis of parties being
led by man is still quite relevant as a snapshot survey shows that both
the ruling parties and the official opposition parties in the SADC region
are led by man. Although progress is being made through the
introduction of quota’s and other affirmative action measures to include
more women in party politics it is quite apparent that the formation and
organisation of political parties remains very much a man’s business and
it is quite an uphill struggle
for women to penetrate these male
dominated political parties.
Evolution and Institutionalisation of Political Parties
African political parties developed differently from Western parties that
grew with the rise of parliamentary groups. African political parties grew
out of the electoral and parliamentary cycle. The parties emerged during
colonial rule both the ANC and ZANU Pf neither in a democratic setting
nor where they considered legitimate. The parties were banned, exiled
and operated clandestinely, there leadership persecuted and some of
them assassinated by the enemy. Overtime the liberation movements
have gone through the challenging process of transforming themselves
from their role and orientation which was just to capture power from the
white imperialists by force into legitimate political parties expected to win
elections through democratic processes by persuading voters with their
policies rather than force.
When political theorists look at the degree of institutionalisation they
consider the age, which is connected with the development and age of the
state;
depersonalisation
of
the
organisation;
and
organisational
differentiation. The two parties that are considered fully institutionalised
4
are the American Democratic Party founded in 1828 and the British
Conservative Party founded in 1832. The ANC was founded in 1912 with
the main objective of liberating South Africans from oppression. ZANU PF
was formed in 1963 with a similar aim of liberating Zimbabwe from racial
oppression. Some of the parties like ZAPU and UANC that were also part
of the struggle later lost out and became very weak and fragile opposition
parties. Unlike the ANC which forms alliances with COSATU and the
South African Communist Party ZANU Pf strove for hegemony and after a
unity accord with ZAPU in 1987 a defacto one party state became the
norm.
The relative long standing institutionalisation of political parties like the
ANC and ZANU pf does have disadvantages; it makes it very difficult for
new parties to emerge, develop and find a space in the political spectrum.
Even in Western democracies rarely do new parties manage to win places
in parliament and even more rarely do they survive there. In the United
States, third parties are excluded from the political game, and the
European states have been very unwelcoming to the new parties (Meny,
1993: 89) It is also quite clear that it is very difficult for the new parties
to overcome the institutional barriers and also the domination of the
older parties.
The struggle of the opposition parties to enter the political arena is not
only an African phenomenon. New parties in general face this problem.
Even the solidarity among older parties is quite natural; it should not be
surprising in Southern Africa that the ANC stands by ZANU PF.
The
opposition MDC getting a cold shoulder from the long standing parties
like the ANC who do not trust the MDC’s intentions. However, the
region’s long history of one party dominance and authoritarianism makes
it even harder for new parties to image and be acceptable and to create
roots in society.
5
Functions of Political Parties.
African political parties especially those that were liberation movements
were the main mechanisms and also participants in the transition from
colonial rule to majority rule. However these parties like SWAPO in
Namibia, ZANU PF in Zimbabwe, ANC in South Africa and FRELIMO in
Mozambique draw upon this legacy as custodians of the struggle and
uses this to justify there dominant status and patronage systems. This
has particularly led to authoritarian tendencies in Zimbabwe where the
other parties like the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) are denied
existence and are considered to be not Zimbabwean because they do not
have the liberation ethos.
Parties play an important role in the market place of political ideas
(Sachikonye 2004). They are so important in the founding and
consolidation of democratic systems of governance. But political parties,
whether operating in a competitive democratic system, or in one party
state systems, they have the same aim that is the control of state power
(Salih 2003). And parties are organised by politicians for the deliberate
purpose of winning elections and controlling power. So when the ANC or
ZANU pf seek to centralise power, and to control power and to seek to
remain in power it is quite natural. The important issue is for every
political society to set up the institutional framework and the competitive
environment that makes this struggle for power and for votes more
human and accessible to all.
Political parties also play an important role in the dispensing of
patronage in the form of material incentives to selected groups and
members.
Examples of patronage include jobs and contracts in
government departments and parastatals (Sachikonye, 2004). In South
Africa the critiques of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) believe that
6
there is a growth of crony capitalism in which the prime beneficiaries of
BEE are ANC heavyweights. The argument is that the black capitalist
class being promoted by BEE is highly dependent upon state policies
protection and preferences and operates extensively through political
networks associated with the ANC. (Southall 2005) Similarly in
Zimbabwe the people that have been given government contracts whether
to build new schools, dams, and the new airport have strong linkages
with ZANU PF. These relationships have been regarded by the opposition
as corrupt relationships in both countries. Even those given licences to
operate certain services and businesses have been ZANU PF cronies for
example the third telecommunications service licence in Zimbabwe was
given to a company Telecel because of its loyalty to the ZANU PF party.
But political parties in both Zimbabwe and South Africa play the
following roles although in different political environments and with
differing levels of effectiveness.
 Political parties endow regimes with legitimacy
 They aggregate diverse demands into coherent political programmes
 They are the principle Actors in the electoral system
 They are the vehicles for the recruitment of political leadership
 Parties are the avenues for participation in the political process
 Opposition parties insist on the accountability of those in power
 Opposition parties also provide choice to the citizens
Opposition Parties
The viability of opposition parties in both Zimbabwe and South Africa
remains crucial for democratic governance. The dominant party systems
in the region remain the greatest threat to the survival of opposition
parties as it is clear that one party dominance and a weak and
fragmented opposition are two sides of the same coin. For the dominant
7
party to survive it crowds out the space for the opposition and at the
same time a weak opposition reinforces the strength of the dominant
party by its failure to be a real challenge to the ruling party. Sachikonye
(2004) did a research on political parties in the SADC region and I will
draw some of the important points on political parties from his
conclusions from this research.
The first conclusion was that the trend has been towards weak
opposition in the region and opposition parties are considered as fragile,
fragmented and overwhelmingly weak. The electoral system especially the
First Past the Post System can contribute to this weakness. This is so
because of a number of reasons, the major one being that the perception
is that opposition parties struggle around issues of tactics and strategy.
Each time the opposition is accused of failing to bring out an alternative
policy. Very few of the opposition parties can become alternative
governments; they are hardly governments in waiting as expected of the
opposition. This is clear of the DA of which it is a well known fact that
whilst they are the official opposition they do not really threaten the ANC.
Most of the opposition parties in the region are divided along grounds of
history, ethnicity and race.
The DA in South Africa and the MDC in
Zimbabwe suffer from real legitimacy problems. In South Africa the
history of apartheid has naturally deligitimated many parties that speak
for the white Afrikaner minority especially the NNP before its demise. In
Zimbabwe the MDC is considered an imperialist party because of its
quoting of international support especially British Prime Minister Tony
Blair and the support by the disgruntled local white farmers.
Born out of the need to compete in elections, the opposition find it hard
to attract a larger following to their policies. For example the DA in trying
to attract the black vote did send contradictory messages to the voters. It
campaigned against black economic empowerment, affirmative action
8
and minimum wages and in favour of a largely unrestricted free market
and more flexible labour laws in the 2004 elections (Southall and Daniel
2005). This only led to very limited success in attracting black voters.
The DA also further played to the interests of the white voters by
criticising Mbeki’s policies on Zimbabwe and his welcome of Aristide in
the country. The DA failed to break the racial barrier. This confusion over
policy or ideology is a characteristic of the opposition in the region.
In Zimbabwe the opposition MDC is always accused of failing to come up
with a clear policy on the land issue and the economy and this is so
because of its broad movement membership status. However the failure
by the opposition parties is also because of the hostility they face at the
hands of the ruling parties who skilfully use each and every opposition
weakness, be it racial or ethnic as political capital to deligetimize the
opposition parties in the eyes of the electorate. The ruling parties also
skilfully use their history of liberating the masses in a manner that really
appeals to the emotions of a number of individuals and it gives the ruling
parties something to fall back on as propaganda during critical campaign
periods. For example ZANU PF’s campaign slogan “Zimbabwe shall never
be a colony again” this can still have greater significance to a number of
people who suffered during colonial rule as compared to the MDC’s
campaign on human rights and democracy.
The opposition’s contribution to democratic governance has really been
problematic because of the dominant party systems, the legacy of the
liberation struggle which is somewhat intolerant of the opposition and
also the opposition’s failure to be properly organised and to grapple with
issues of internal democracy in some of the opposition parties. Some of
the opposition parties lack institutionalisation as they are only a front for
a single individual or what has been known as “briefcase parties.” For
example the ones in Zimbabwe like FODEZI, NAGG are created for
9
elections and they fizzle out after the elections. This leads to very little
trust by the voters of opposition parties.
Political culture and political parties
How widespread is the support for democratic institutions and political
parties in South Africa and Zimbabwe. What has been the impact of
liberation political parties on issues of democracy and elections and
political stability and peace building in general as elements of democratic
governance? In order to understand the value of political parties in the
two countries we have to examine the impact of the liberation political
culture on the overall political process. John Saul (1999) has argued that
there has been a practice of “liberation without democracy”
(Saul,
1999:168). John Saul puts across the argument that the brutality of the
white minority regimes made undemocratic practices for those fighting
them inevitable with serious implications for post liberation politics. As it
is aptly put by Mamphela Ramphele
“The military culture that came with guerrilla warfare added to the
entrenchment of an authoritarian culture. The political culture that
evolved was antithetical to democratic principles and practices and
practices that embody respect for individual rights and tolerance for
different viewpoints” (Mampela Ramphele 2001:9 quoted in Gibson,
2003:778)
Similarly in Zimbabwe it is said that “the commandist nature of
mobilisation and politicisation under clandestine circumstances gave rise
to the politics of intimidation and fear” (Sithole, 1989:247). This culture
could be illustrated by the lack of any elections in the exiled ANC
leadership between 1959-1985 (Lodge, 1996:191).
But when the ANC
returned home from exile embroiled in their authoritarian culture they
10
were confronted with a totally different culture of civic activism and
participation built by a dense network of associations and trade unions.
(Lodge 1996:192). The democratic possibilities in South Africa and in the
ANC are based on the sustenance of this mass broad democratic
movement. In Zimbabwe during the struggle there were no elections held
in the liberation parties and any dissenting voices were brutally silenced
in what has been termed the “struggles within the struggle” (Sithole
1979). Personal and ethnic rivalries within the two liberation movements
ZANU and ZAPU led politics to be treated as a zero sum game (Saul:
1999:170). Additionally traditional political attitudes and norms tended
to be supportive of one man as the chief especially in the rural areas, and
there fore the one party dominance and certain authoritarian tendencies
are not surprising today within the political parties.
The same scenario of a broad mass democratic movement did not take
place in Zimbabwe as the civic movement and the trade unions were
weakened or subsumed under the liberation movements at the time of
independence.
Although South Africa had this activist participative
political culture certain levels of intolerance could be picked up in the
80s and 90s as different groups clashed with each other over issues of
political difference. This is illustrated by the violent clashes between
different political organisations that led to the thousand of deaths’ in
1993 (Lodge, 1996:194). Surveys have shown high levels of intolerance
even among the elite. Studies that were carried out during transition in
1996 discovered that support for democracy in South Africa was not as
widespread although this position has changed. Gibson argued that
apartheid had a disastrous impact on South Africa’s political culture as
group identities and levels of dogmatism are the strongest predictors of
support for democratic institutions and processes.
11
It is often pointed out that Zimbabwe’s bloody liberation struggle fostered
the ZANU pf Party with political intolerance and distrust of all
opponents. (Southall,2003 Sithole, 1989).
Those that support the
opposition and a change of government are regarded as disloyal and not
belonging to a free Zimbabwe. Racial diatribes are used to delegitimize
the opposition. The culture from the liberation struggle was intolerant
and violent and enemies were to be killed. This was clearly illustrated in
Zimbabwe after the 1985 elections when a caricature of Joshua Nkomo
the leader of the opposition was put in a coffin in a mock funeral to
symbolise his death as the death of the opposition to the delight of
crowds. (Sithole, 1989:248). South Africa has not witnessed such
extremes of intolerance in the relations between the ANC and the
opposition. On the other hand South Africa’s broad based struggle which
included the four races, white, blacks, Indians and coloured and also
civic groups around the ideology of non racialism is believed to have
imparted the principles of a non racial democracy and a respect for
human rights. (Southall, 2003:258).
However the fact that both parties ANC and ZANU pf during the struggle
assumed the Marxist Leninist ideology to give them inspiration should
not be disregarded. The main thrust of the struggle based on Marxism
Leninism ideology for inspiration should not be disregarded. The main
thrust of the struggle based on Marxism Leninism was grounded in one
partism or one party dominance. Furthermore the ANC sees it self as
representing the “nation” and responsible for the “historical challenge of
transformation” it views other opposition parties with suspicion and the
opposition strategies and criticisms as illegitimate (Schrire,2001:137) The
ANC’s hegemonic position as a threat to democracy has been discussed
and debated (Southall, 2001, Lodge, 2002). The ANC’s desire to
centralise
power
has
been
highlighted
with
clear
fears
of
its
“Zanufication” and its constant use of the race card whenever they feel it
12
appropriate to do so. Whilst there is a clear desire by the ANC to
centralise power and political intolerance which is manifested in the
tendency to label anyone who criticises government as “counter
revolutionary” and an “enemy of transformation”, the ANC is still playing
by the rules of the game as confirmed by Schrire
“ The ANC has nonetheless acted as good democrats at the national level,
the party has played the political game by the rules. It has accepted
decisions by the courts, tolerated the parliamentary opposition” (Schrire,
2001:139-140)
The argument in South Africa now is that ANC dominance is the number
one threat to the consolidation of democracy. Whilst I believe that the
number one threat to South Africa’s democracy are issues to do with
unemployment, poverty and the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Recurrent ANC
victories are a source of consternation upon the quality and future
direction of South Africa’s democracy (Southall and Daniel, 2005). But
South Africans are comfortable because ANC dominance is limited by
constitutional counterweights and the democracy promoting bodies
which are largely absent in the Zimbabwean context. This allows the
ZANU PF government to centralise power and to maintain the
dictatorship.
Traditionally Democracy in one party state systems was identified with
majority rule and satisfying the needs and the aspirations of the
majority. The capture of state power was the ultimate aim in order to
satisfy the whims of the majority. Elections were merely to achieve
outright victories and to give access to power. One hope that some traces
of this kind of traditional thinking does not become the basis for
governance by the ANC government. The capture of state power for the
good of the majority and the centralisation of authority leads to
undemocratic tendencies as it leads to de-participation
13
Political Parties and Democratic Governance
When the discourse on governance started in the late 80s there was very
little emphasis on the role of political parties in the governance debate.
The governance debate remained focused on the rolling back of the state
and unleashing market forces in order to realise growth. The governance
debate was very economist as it emphasised Economic Liberalisation.
According to Hout (2003) in the World Banks’ definition of governance
which was more administrative and managerial, political parties did not
feature. The technocratic interpretation of governance put down by
Leftwich (1994) did not recognise political parties as actors. But Leftwich
‘s second interpretation of governance which is more political recognised
the role of political parties and multiparty democracy as a requisite of
good governance. It has now become quite clear that political parties are
the prime non state institutions that are required if good democratic
governance is to get substantive.
Threats to the Role of Parties in Democratic Governance.
Parties’ role in democratic governance is threatened by the environment
in which they operate lack of resources, general levels of apathy, an
unfavourable electoral system, and one party dominance. The populace
have to realise the need for parties and to participate in their political
systems. At the moment in countries like Zimbabwe levels of apathy are
affecting the vibrancy of parties and citizens’ effective participation in
elections. In a survey of political party membership done by EISA in 1999
showed that political party membership was declining in the ANC and
that it had substantially declined between 1994- 1999. This shows that
people are increasingly becoming disengaged in party political activities.
This also affects issues of voter turnout because the voters feel alienated
14
and believe that there vote might not have an impact. This is a very
dangerous situation for democracy.
One party dominance becomes another enemy to the vibrancy of other
parties. In Sachikonye’s study it is reported that 82% of the elected seats
in legislatures are in the ruling party hands and shows the exclusion of
many players. This leads to exclusionary democracies. In Zimbabwe the
dominant party actively and systematically black out attempts by
opposition parties to attain viability or reach the public thorough the
media. There are several legislation that are passed to stifle the ability of
the opposition to assemble and there freedom of speech. The notorious
acts which are the Public Order and Security Act (POSA, 2002) and
Access to Information and Privacy Act (AIPPA 2002) in Zimbabwe have
threatened the growth and the consolidation of opposition parties.
However, opposition parties
are embroiled in their own problems of
institutionalisation and being properly anchored into society. Internal
cohesion is also weak in opposition parties. The waves of democratisation
in Africa has produced an outburst of opposition activity which has led
to the growth of many parties but with very little substance and even
vision.
Conclusion
Whilst countries in the region are striving for good governance by
creating and nurturing democratic structures of which political parties
are key, the development of a truly democratic culture has not taken root
in Zimbabwe.
Politics is still very much a zero sum game as it was
played during the liberation struggle. South Africa even though with the
elements of the liberation mentality seems to be on course to the creation
of a much more tolerant political culture. The ANC government remains
15
the limelight in the region. However the region is refocusing on its
political institutions mainly its political parties as it was a real missing
dimension in the democratic debate. Donor focus was more on civil
society rather that political parties and now there are efforts in the region
and research going on done by EISA and other organisations and the
local and international levels, on how to strengthen political parties,
building capacity in political parties, funding of political parties, issues of
internal party democracy and intra-party democracy. This realisation
that parties are important would hopefully be grasped gracefully by the
peoples of the region as the liberation political culture matures and
changes into a much more tolerant and democratic political culture.
References
Downs A (1957), An economic theory of Democracy. West view Press.
Gibson J (2003), The legacy of apartheid racial difference in the
legitimacy of democratic institutions and processes in the new South
Africa. Comparative Political Studies vol. 36. no 7. September 2003, 772800
Hout W. (2003), Political Parties and Governance. In African Political
Parties edited by M Salih. Pluto Press London
Lodge T (2002), Politics in South Africa from Mandela to Mbeki. David
Philip, Cape Town.
Lodge T (1996) South Africa Democracy and Development in a Post
Apatheid Society, in Democracy and Development edited by Adrian
Leftwich.
Meny Y (1993) Government and Politics in Western Europe.
Oxfords
University Press.
Sartori G (1976) Parties and Party Systems: A framework for Analysis.
Cambridge University Press.
16
Sachikonye L (2004) The functioning and Funding of Political Parties in
the SADC Region. International IDEA Conference Report 2004.
Salih
M
(2003),
(ed)
African
Political
Parties,
Evolution,
Institutionalisation and Governance. Pluto Press, London.
Southall R and Daniel J (2005) The State of Parties Post Election 2004:
ANC Dominance and Opposition Enfeeblement. In State of the Nation
South Africa 2004-2005 HSRC.
Southall R (2003) Democracy in Southern Africa: Moving Beyond
a
difficult legacy. Review of African Political Economy vol. 30 no 96 June
2003 255-272.
Schrire
R (2001) The realities of the opposition in South Africa:
Legitimacy
and consequences. In Roger Southall Opposition and
Democracy in South Africa. Frank Cass. London.
Saul
John
(1999)
Liberation
without
Democracy
Rethinking
the
Experinces of the South African Liberation Movement. In African
Democracy in the Era of Globalisation edited by Jonathan Hyslop,
Witwatersrand University Press.
Sithole Masipula (1989) Zimbabwe in search of a Stable democracy. In
Democracy in Developing Countries edited by Diamond, Linz and Lipset.
Lynn Rienner Publishers, Boulder, Colorado.
Sithole Masipula (1979) Zimbabwe Struggles within the Struggle. Rujeko
Publishers, Harare.
17
18