Masters Administration - MADMIN

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Browsing by Author "Africa, Cherrel"

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    Campaigning in Party Strongholds: A case of Imizamo Yethu, Hout Bay.
    (University of the Western Cape, 2015) Dyantyi, Mandisa; Africa, Cherrel
    The ability to campaign freely in the run-up to elections is seen as a critical part of democracy. This study seeks to establish whether South African political parties can campaign freely in township areas, without fear of intimidation or violence, or whether they remain closed party strongholds. This paper examines what constitutes a �free and fair� campaign space. This study then explores the 2014 election campaigns of the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in the township of Imizamo Yethu in Hout Bay in the Western Cape and examines party campaigning in that particular township. The study looks at the perceptions of political parties and the community members with regard to the campaign process in Imizamo Yethu. It looks at how both the governing and the opposition parties experienced campaigning in this area, which is the stronghold of the ANC, and how free and fair they think the whole process was. Community members� perception of the political parties is also examined. This study finds that opposition parties experienced a number of challenges while campaigning in this area. Some of these challenges were that the people in the area were not very receptive to other parties that are not the ANC due to factors such as party identification and clientelistic relationships that exist in the community. The study then concludes that even though these issues are not sole contributors, they play a significant role in influencing people�s voting decisions and how they view political parties.
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    Vote-switching in South Africa: exploring the motivations of voters who switched from the ACDP and COPE to the DA in the 2011 local government election
    (University of the Western Cape, 2014) Moses, Meshay Lee; Africa, Cherrel
    This study explores the motivations of voters who chose to switch their vote or support from the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) and the Congress of the People (COPE) to another opposition, the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the 2011 local government election. The study was informed by a qualitative research approach. Accordingly, an interview schedule was utilized as a research tool. This schedule contained questions prepared in order to acquire the necessary insight of voters who previously supported the ACDP and COPE (in the 2009 general elections) and moved to the DA in the 2011 local government election. In addition, interviews were conducted with party representatives from the ACDP and COPE in order to gain further insights into their perceptions of the key reasons for their party’s poor performance in this election. Popkin’s integrated theory is used as a basis to make sense of the behaviour and movement of voters during the 2011 local government election. Popkin (1991) argues that voters utilise low-information rationality or “gut-reasoning” when evaluating political parties, their candidates and the issues they present. As will be shown throughout this thesis, Popkin’s approach, where voters combine various sets of information obtained through daily life, the media and political campaigns, best explains the dynamics in the research findings. Based on the research findings, it appears that Popkin’s approach is the most useful for understanding the reasons for the voter migration to the DA in the 2011 election.