The election result and its implications for political party configuration

dc.contributor.authorPiper, Laurence
dc.date.accessioned2021-02-03T10:26:48Z
dc.date.available2021-02-03T10:26:48Z
dc.date.issued2004
dc.description.abstractAs a competition for both popular support and political office, Election 2004 deepened the dominant-party system in South Africa. In terms of support, the African National Congress (ANC) did better than ever. Indeed, its leadership seemed more concerned about internal left-wing politics than about rival parties. Conversely, with the partial exception of the Democratic Alliance (DA), opposition parties did worse, and appear stuck in a zero-sum competition amongst themselves. In terms of office, ANC popularity meant greater national power and, for the first time, control of all provinces. Further, Election 2004 revealed that the more the ANC cooperates with its alliance partners the better it does at the polls, and the more influence the Congress Of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu)/South African Communist Party (SACP) have over policy. For opposition parties this dynamic is reversed. Those parties which co-operated with the ANC to get office lost popular support, while those which eschewed office did better at the polls. In sum, while popularity and office are mutually reinforcing for the alliance, they constitute a dilemma for opposition parties. Finally, while there are signs that broader social change will pose some class-related problems for the ANC, more profound racial obstacles await opposition parties.en_US
dc.identifier.citationPiper, L. (2004). The election result and its implications for political party configuration. Journal of African Elections, 3( 2), 97-120en_US
dc.identifier.issn1609-4700
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10566/5827
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherSabineten_US
dc.subjectThe electionsen_US
dc.subjectPolitical party configurationen_US
dc.subjectVoter behaviouren_US
dc.subjectImplicationsen_US
dc.titleThe election result and its implications for political party configurationen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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