OPINIONISTA: The electoral system shows contempt for individual accountability of public representatives

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OPINIONISTA: The electoral system shows contempt for individual accountability of public representatives By Professor Balthazar

Visiting Cape Town compels the reading of an interesting political message. Driving along the leafy streets of the southern suburbs or the depressingly unchanged areas which remain a product of apartheid spatial geography, the posters of the political parties jump out at one, each promising nirvana in our lifetime.

This oddity of the present election campaign is reflective of the fundamental flaw in the present electoral system. Voters are asked to vote for a party, not someone who will represent them in either the National Assembly or the provincial assembly. The ANC campaign in which voters have not the foggiest idea who will be the most powerful politician in the province merely exemplifies the idea of “trust the party to choose representatives for you”.co-authored by Michelle le Roux and Dennis Davis.

The animating objective was to ensure that individual accountability would be enhanced as an MP or MPL would be wary of his or her voters when the latter expected a sensible response to, say, allegations of corruption of public funds. The Slabbert recommendations are obviously but one of a series of options that could be considered to reform the present electoral system that will operate again on Wednesday.

 

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