Shifting Political Landscape

After months of anticipation, widespread speculation and tireless campaigning by political parties, the 2009 elections have come and gone. As expected, the African National Congress (ANC) has once again been delivered an emphatic mandate to govern, winning 65.9% of the national vote and a majority in eight of the nine provinces. However, despite the [...]

We’ve voted – what next?

Now that election day is passed, what happens next? The South African Constitution lays out the procedures to be followed after every general election…

Potential Impact of Youth Vote

This year, the ‘youth’ of South Africa have elicited considerable attention because of their high rates of voter registration and the potential impact they may have on determining the outcome of the elections.
Moreover, the increasing power of the youth league within the ANC, particularly the role they played in ensuring the ascension of Jacob Zuma [...]

Archbishop Calls for Calm During Elections

The Election Monitoring Network released a statement to the press today – see the video of the Archbishop delivering the statement here – http://www.zoopy.com/idasa
More at www.electionmonitoringnetwork.org

Opposition Politics – Turnout is Key

This brief discusses the landscape of opposition politics and explains some of the issues that may affect the opposition’s performance in election 2009, with regards to possible shifts of electoral support to the opposition.
Read more about the socio-economic landscape and disaffected voters, fragmentation within the opposition, race and class, the style of opposition politics that [...]

Human Rights and Prisoners – Zimbabwe

Shouldn’t human rights apply to all humans, even prisoners?

Should the crime of stealing a piece of meat be punishable by death? In Zimbabwe’s prisons even a short incarceration period has a high probability of ending an inmate’s life, a fate that torments prisoners when they are imprisoned.

The State of SA’s Democratic Institutions

- By Shameela Seedat -
Media coverage leading up to next month’s national elections would leave many of us convinced of a dramatic plunge over the past few years in the level of public trust in South African democratic institutions.
Several significant events have led to such dwindling enthusiasm. These events include, to mention a few, [...]

Are food parcels being abused to manipulate voters?

By Christi van der Westhuizen
www.electionmonitoringnetwork.org
‘‘I‘m going to make sure that if you advertise (sic) an article about my name on the newspaper I will deal with you… If you go to the paper with that thing you’re going to deal with the consequences thereafter… I am not threatening you, you are threatening yourself. You cannot [...]

Know Your Decision Makers – Zimbabwe

To know your ministers, is to know your powerful decision makers.  Understand more about the dynamics in the Zimbabwean government in the profiles of Ministers.  See these on the Idasa website here; and the Zimbabwean Times site here.

Source – Zimbabwe Times

A Quick Guide to the Jacob Zuma Matter

See this quick guide to the basics on the Jacob Zuma matter … why did the NPA bring charges? Why did they drop charges? Is this the end of the case? What legal precedents are being set and what is their significance?