Political Parties in Africa: Challenges for Sustained Multiparty

International Idea
potential that exists there for conflict between parties based for instance on ethnicity
and regionalism—has no requirements for parties to be of a national character, and
at the same time shows no serious signs of political crisis as a result of political
mobilization based on ethnicity or other social cleavages.
Given these three examples, the question whether party regulations (or the absence
of party regulations) aiming to promote the national character of political parties
lead to stable or unstable political parties is therefore very much open for debate. Let
us take a closer look at this aspect of the impact of regulations, and also introduce
the question of their democratic legitimacy.
6.4 Democratic and effective regulations?
Two dimensions are central to this debate on party regulations. First, are regulations
more or less democratic? Second, do the regulations result in forms of political
competition that are better for democracy than what would have been the case
without regulations? The examples drawn from Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa
above illustrate these two dimensions well. How democratic is it to impose regulations
on the national character and organization of political parties? Do such regulations
result in more democratic outcomes?
The picture based on these examples is mixed and reminds us of the highly contextdependent
character of regulations. While regulation might work in Ghana (at the
moment), it is certainly less successful in Nigeria. Or would the alternative—no
regulations in Nigeria—have produced much more adverse outcomes for democracy,
like civil war or secession?
One useful example that illustrates why these dimensions may be useful in evaluating
regulations is the case of quotas for women in parliaments. Whether voluntary or
legislated, quotas—like any question on affirmative action—raise the issue whether
such measures are compatible with democratic principles. While this is a valid
discussion for any regulation of parties or party systems, it is also widely recognized
that more equal participation by and representation of women is indeed good for
democracy, and that quotas can achieve more inclusive forms of political competition
than what would otherwise have been the case. 14
Many other forms of regulations—such as regulations to prevent parties from
mobilizing along ethnic, religious, regional or language group lines—should also
14
Visit http://www.idea.int for free downloads of several publications on quotas and women in politics
that support this argument. See also Dahlerup 2006.
Party Structures and Internal Organization