Political Parties in Africa: Challenges for Sustained Multiparty

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Political Parties in Africa: Challenges for Sustained Multiparty Democracy Our knowledge of the details of the way in which African political party leaderships interact with government and of the articulation or disarticulation of party and government leaderships remains anecdotal and is largely informed by media critique of the behaviour of the political executive. The dangers of this knowledge gap are manifold. We mention only two. 1. The current critique of political parties is anecdotal and does not reflect the reality of what political parties are really doing behind the façade of government success or failure, squabbling MPs or objectionable verbal comments by ministers. At times media reporting and the exaggerations generated by the media substitute for reality and do not truly reflect party politics. 2. The lack of informed knowledge about the articulation of political party leadership and government makes it difficult for political party promotion organizations to identify where intervention could contribute to substantive improvements in the sensitive area of the triangulated relationship involving parliament, the government and the political parties. The implication of these two points is that the political party leaders who are also government leaders maintain a level of supremacy over the legislature because the government party leaders (a) appoint and/or control the appointment of the members of the national executive committee and (b) control the party’s ability to maintain an effective organization based on its own internal regulations. With the state resources at hand and the ability to confer honours and rewards on aspirant party members and lower structures, a government party leader wields immense power and leverage over party organs. These issues also have dire consequences for internal party organization and internal democracy within most African political parties. Internal party organization goes beyond party membership, the constituencies and the voters and involves issues of internal party democracy and transparency and accountability in five major areas of concern: the party bureaucracy (also known as party management); leadership selection; the selection of candidates; political party finance; and party policy or electoral programme development. We now turn to these. 5.2 Party management One of the main functions of political parties is to maintain themselves as organizations capable of contesting elections, maintaining their membership, supporting their MPs,
International Idea and if they become the government party ensuring that their political programmes and election promises are acted upon and implemented. Maintaining contacts with an increasing number of party-to-party national, regional and global networks, working with special-interest groups, such as young people, women, the private sector, trade unions and civil society organizations, are also common activities in which political parties are constantly involved. We really know little about how African political parties are managed, what type of bureaucracy informs the day-to-day running of the party office, or the relationship between political office-holders (the chairperson or secretary and their deputies, the treasurer and various portfolios) and the administrative staff together with the office administration, personnel, financial and election campaign and publicity management, programme development and party policy implementation procedures. However, the knowledge that is available suggests that, while certain political party activities, particularly during elections, and other minor ad hoc activities are conducted by volunteers, party offices are often managed by professional managers. The management of political party national and regional or provincial offices requires a certain administrative structure in order to ensure the rapid and efficient conduct of party affairs. Therefore a distinction must be made between the interests of party leaders and members and the range of political activities in which they are engaged, on the one hand, and the routine bureaucratic functions in which the technocratic or bureaucratic management of the party is involved, on the other. Political party office employees constitute a special category of party personnel who also develop into a special-interest group within the political party, and their level of remuneration depends on their political commitment to the party’s values or ideology, and the level of service they provide to the political leaders. In short, there is a need for full studies to be commissioned on how African political parties are managed, for a number of reasons, not least in order to gain a fuller understanding of their governability and the extent to which their operations conform to the democratic governance ethos, including transparency, financial accountability and even respect for human rights in the workplace. It is difficult, almost impossible, to advocate prudence in the management of the public finances of political parties or to require a certain level of financial accountability and transparency if the manner in which political parties are managed is not adequately understood. 5.2.1 Internal party democracy: Leadership and candidate selection Ethnic, regional or religious cleavages and patronage all affect internal party democracy, as political parties become either fiefdoms of their political leaders or Party Structures and Internal Organization
Page 1:
Political Parties in Africa: Challe
Page 4 and 5:
Page 6 and 7:
Besides this report on political pa
Page 8 and 9:
5. Party Structures and Internal Or
Page 10 and 11:
0 Chapter 1 Methodology
Page 12 and 13:
Page 14 and 15:
Mauritius Labour Party Mauritian Mi
Page 16 and 17:
Page 18 and 19:
Chapter 2 Introduction
Page 20 and 21:
0 Political Parties in Africa: Chal
Page 22 and 23:
Page 24 and 25:
Chapter 3 Context
Page 26 and 27:
3.1 The internal context 3.1.1 Soci
Page 28 and 29:
Page 30 and 31:
Page 32 and 33:
Page 34 and 35: Political Parties in Africa: Challe
Page 36 and 37: 3.2 The external context Political
Page 40 and 41: 0 Chapter 4 African Party and Elect
Page 44 and 45: 2 Political Parties in Africa: Chal
Page 52 and 53: 52 Political Parties in Africa: Cha
Page 56 and 57: No. Country Electoral system for na
Page 64 and 65: • the Pan-African Parliament; •
Page 72 and 73: No. Country Parties 16 Associates P
Page 74 and 75: No. Country Political party Politic
Page 76 and 77: No. Country Political party Politic
Page 78 and 79: Chapter 5 Party Structures and Inte
Page 80 and 81: 5 5.1.1 Party structure 0 Political
Page 94 and 95: Country Constitutional crisis and l
Page 98 and 99: Country Percentage of women in legi
Page 100 and 101: 00 Political Parties in Africa: Cha
Page 102 and 103: 0 Chapter 6 External Party Regulati
Page 104 and 105: 6.1 New parties—old theories? 0 P
Page 108 and 109: 6.3.1 The proscription model 0 Poli
Page 110 and 111: 12 13 6.3.5 The prescription model
Page 114 and 115: 114 Political Parties in Africa: Ch
Page 116 and 117: 116 Political Parties in Africa: Ch
Page 122 and 123: No. Country Year of introduction 1
Page 124 and 125: Country Enforcement authority Benin
Page 126 and 127: Chapter 7 Conclusions and Recommend
Page 132 and 133: Acronyms and Abbreviations ACE Admi
Page 134 and 135:
References and Select Bibliography
Page 136 and 137:
Kadima, Denis, (ed.), The Politics
Page 138 and 139:
—‘Building Political Parties: R
Page 140 and 141:
About the Authors Per Nordlund is a
show all

Political Parties in Africa: Challenges for Sustained Multiparty

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?