Political Parties in Africa: Challenges for Sustained Multiparty

International Idea
This raises one of the most important questions for IDEA’s programme on political
parties: What is the right balance of regulations for political parties that promotes
democratization? While recognizing the context-specific character of the impact
certain types of regulations have on parties and politics in specific countries, the aim
is also to make comparative knowledge available that can provide lessons learned
across countries and regions.
6.2 Political parties and regulations
The existence of internationally and regionally recognized standards implies that
free, fair and equitable competition between political parties is central to electoral
democracy and democratization. If political parties are constrained by less than
democratically motivated means, then this will have a negative impact on the
citizens’ capacity to articulate demands, aggregate preferences and hold their rulers
accountable. In principle, the law should therefore treat parties equally rather than
restricting or discriminating for or against specific interests that political parties might
reflect. Political parties should have the right to decide on their own organization and
management, and they should enjoy freedom of expression, opinion and assembly. 10
More often, however, parties are closely regulated, and it appears that regulation of
parties is on the increase.
The desirability of political party laws and regulations has been the subject of debate
and everlasting polemic. Historically, liberals have put up stiff resistance to the
regulation of political parties in an attempt to reduce government intervention in
regulating political life. In other words, government should not interfere in regulating
political parties and they should operate as self-regulating institutions where private
individuals compete for the distribution of social and political goods. Constitutional
guarantees of liberty and freedom through democratic rights are more important than
excessive governmental authority and officials seeking to regulate the distribution
of social political goods. In effect, the private rights theory sees little wisdom in
using public resources to advance private citizens’ access to social goods and services
beyond the need to ensure individual liberty through the rule of law. The regulation
of political parties, and in particular of party funding, is not welcome, according to
10
For a more detailed discussion, see Norris, Pippa, Building Knowledge Societies: The Renewal of
Democratic Practices in Knowledge Societies, UNESCO World Report (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard
University, John F. Kennedy School of Government, February 2004), available at
http://ksghome.harvard.edu/~pnorris/Acrobat/UNESCO%20Report%20Knowledge%20Societies.
pdf.
0
External Party Regulations