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CORRUPTION NEWS

Afrobarometer: Democracy at risk – the people’s perspective

In July pan-African research institution network Afrobarometer released what it describes as its inaugural flagship report, one focusing on the democratic aspirations and experiences of African citizens. The organisation intends this to be an annual series. Information is drawn from more than a decade’s worth of data, including the latest round of nationally representative surveys Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Safeguarding our democracy in the age of growing mistrust

Electoral democracy – a democratic government based on a system that enables all citizens to select one candidate from a list of competitors for political office in a process of election. Each citizen becomes a voter who casts a secret ballot indicating their choices. In order for the election to qualify for democratic integrity, the Read more >

OPINIONS

Directly electing our president does not guarantee accountability

By Steven FriedmanFirst published on My Vote Counts Academics who teach politics do not believe that their knowledge equips them to judge court cases or to represent parties in legal actions. But judges and lawyers tend to believe that legal training somehow equips them with a knowledge of politics greater than that of their fellow Read more >

NEWS

ConCourt judgment: How does this change politics as we know it?

By Lizeka Tandwa and Jan Gerber First published on News24 Following the Constitutional Court ruling on Thursday, Parliament could adopt the local government system in provincial and national elections, political analysts and a constitutional law expert predict. The landmark judgment, delivered by Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, will see independent candidates competing in the elections, even without Read more >

OPINIONS

Cambridge Analytica and the end of elections

By Nanjala Nyabola First published on Al Jazeera The latest Cambridge Analytica leaks show just how compromised voting – one of the pillars of democracy – has become. In the early hours of 1 January 2020, a Twitter handle, @hindsightfiles, allegedly run by Brittany Kaiser, a former employee of Cambridge Analytica, shared confidential documentation regarding the involvement Read more >

NEWS

“We need to know who funds which party”

By Thato Mahlangu Asking political parties to openly say who funds them could be a fruitless exercise, said political analyst Dr. Ralph Mathekga, as political parties don’t want to voluntarily name their funders. Mathekga speaking at a panel discussion held on Wednesday 06 November 2019 at the Constitution Hill mentioned how it was a challenge Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

How NA and prov. legislature seats are calculated

All calculations are contained in Schedule 1A of the Electoral Act, 73 of 1998 South Africans don’t vote for individuals – they vote for parties who then elect the individuals they think would do the best job in representing the people. The proportion of representation a party has in Parliament is calculated according to a Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Live election results on IEC website

Follow the Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC) live coverage of the vote counting in South Africa’s sixth general election, held yesterday, 8 May. As of 09h00 on 9 May, results had been tallied in 26.22% of voting districts. Click on the graphic to go to the IEC’s live results page. A snapshot of election results at Read more >