Race and ethnicity: Voters’ party preference in South African elections

Abstract

Genuine, periodic, free and fair elections are one of the key defining features of a vibrant multi-party democracy. They provide a public mechanism for regular peaceful institutional competition for power and the opportunity for people to change, review or legitimise government through their freely expressed will. This article interrogates the behaviour of South African voters using a qualitative analysis of available studies covering the national and provincial elections held in 1994, 1999, 2004 and 2009, and the municipal election of 2011. One of the notable trends is that while the number of registered voters keeps increasing, voter turnout is on the decrease. There are other salient observable tends but they are not the focus of the article. For the purposes of the article the first conclusion is that among the various competing variables influencing voters’ choice of a particular political party in South African public elections, the race issue, however weak some might suggest it is, still looms large and is a dominant factor despite denials by some researchers. Second, in contrast to what obtains in many other African countries, ethnic identity happily has only a marginal influence on South African voters. This second conclusion should however not be regarded as cast in stone, given the ever-changing dynamic nature of people's identity and behaviour as well as the election campaign strategies of participating political parties and the role of the media. Given that there is a complex interrelatedness of ethnic and racial identity and interests, the electorate might well be more sophisticated than many realise.     

In search of real justice for Africa and Africans,and her/their descendants in a world of justice,injustices and impunity

Abstract

The quest for justice by Africans and peoples of African descent, wherever they may be in the world, is arguably one of the most daunting mental, psychological, moral, legal and material challenges facing humanity in general, and the peoples of Africa in particular. It is a question of whether African peoples demand justice for the wrongs committed against Africa and its peoples over the last 500 years, or whether Africa and African peoples accept complicity in the global impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators of those injustices, and by doing so diminish the significance of contemporary enthusiasm for global justice. Centralising the question of impunity to date for horrendous crimes, gross human and peoples’ rights violations and other injustices against Africa and Africans is not meant to distract Africans in Africa and the diaspora from the quest, in the 21^st century, for a new Africa that we have a historical responsibility to build and, by doing so, to ensure that the past is not repeated. Acknowledging the wrongs of the past and making symbolic reparative actions for those wrongs are essential for ensuring that the pursuit for a better world of justice is not built on top of underlying sinkholes and on the waste dumps of past injustices. Critical breakthroughs, such as the commitment enshrined in the Constitutive Act of the African Union (2000), on crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide and the prohibition of unconstitutional change of government, must be vigorously pursued to their logical conclusion. To do so requires an understanding of where Africans, in their relationship with peoples in the rest of the world, are coming from. Smaller parts of the world have experienced similar heinous injustices with impunity, and Africa's pursuit of real justice also applies to those states and their peoples. Corrective or reparative justice is needed to clear the path for the meaningful and honest promotion of real global justice in the making of the future. It is imperative that the making of the African Renaissance confront real global justice for the sake of the past, the present and the future.     

回顾与前瞻:澳门特区公共行政改革

回归以来,澳门特区政府推出形式多样的公共行政改革措施,在重组政府架构,简化行政程序,规范行政行为,提升服务素质,完善公职制度,制定施政规划,提高施政透明度,强化政策制定能力、危机处理能力以及区域合作能力等方面取得重要进展。然而,澳门特区公共行政仍然存在不足之处,主要表现在政府职能没有得到系统梳理、行政组织设置过度专业化、问责制度缺乏执行机制、治理人才缺乏相应选拔培养机制、葡式行政制度缺陷尚未得到根本改革等方面。因此,澳门特区政府需要在既有改革的基础上推进新的改革。     

“大数据杀熟”行为政府治理路径探讨

“大数据杀熟”行为严重损害了消费者权益.相对于传统商业“杀熟”行为, “大数据杀熟”行为更隐蔽,消费者维权更艰难.这种利用算法应用技术损害消费者权益的行为严重违背商业伦理,不仅关乎消费者个人权益,更会影响公共利益,仅凭市场调节难以纠正,需要通过法律进行救济.政府应在遵循辅助性原则的前提下,通过算法应用技术备案、建立“政...     

法治财政建设中党规与国法的功能适配

在党领导一切和依宪治国相统一的背景下,规范化、法治化的党政关系是时代发展的必然.从财政法治建设的视角检视,尽管党的政治领导已经有较为成熟模式,但在具体事务上的党政分工并不清晰.基于我国政治现实,党务财政已经成为财政体系的组成部分.但执政党的自身政治定位决定了,其对财政事务的领导适宜规划、引导和督促,而非直接介入具体事务...     

正当程序的宪政之维

正当程序作为宪法的基本原则，已经得到现代法治国家的普遍认可。它对一国宪政的发展具有树立宪法权威、建构法治、控制权力和保障人权等价值。针对我国的宪政现状，应从改造人们的程序观念、增加宪法的程序性条款、完善我国的程序法律和程序控权与保权的制度设计等几个方面入手构造正当程序，以推动我国宪政建设走上更成熟的道路。     

论电子政务下政府权力运作之外在规定性

政府权力运作在电子政务下产生了重大变化，而其外在规定性是一个被忽视而又十分重要的课题。从外延考察，电子政务下政府权力运作之外在规定性由有限虚拟、职能整合、信息共享、法治监督和以人为本组成。     

论新农村建设中乡镇政府公共服务职能重构的实现途径

乡镇政府虽然是当前国家行政体系中的最低一级政权组织，却承担着规划和组织乡村公共设施、公益事业的建设、为农村提供公共产品和公共服务的重要责任，其履行职责状况直接关系到农村的稳定和发展．对整个国家和社会有重大影响。随着社会主义市场经济的逐步建立和农村城市化进程的加快。乡镇政府的职能虽然有了很大程度上的转变，但在社会转型期，乡镇政府运行模式仍然存在着“越位”、“缺位”和“错位”现象。本文通过对乡镇政府进行职能解析，分析其在公共服务方面面临的问题，提出以公共服务为取向的乡镇政府职能重构的对策．希望对社会主义新农村建设和公共服务型政府建设有所助益。     

对加强政府社会管理的思考

社会管理是政府的重要职能，加强政府社会管理是构建社会主义和谐社会的客观要求。改革开放以来，我国经济社会发生了深刻变革，产生了许多新的社会问题和社会矛盾，增加了社会管理的难度和复杂性。我国政府在推进行政管理体制改革中不断改革和完善社会管理体制，取得了显著成效，但是，从总体上看，我国政府的社会管理职能还比较薄弱，当前社会管理还面临着许多亟待解决的问题，因此，必须进一步推进社会管理体制改革与创新，才能强化政府的社会管理职能，完善社会管理。     

试论政府善治视域下我国行政问责制的建构

在我国目前的政治语境下，建立和实施行政问责制具有重要的现实意义。行政问责制是建设责任政府、推进民主政治的一个重要途径，也是实现政府良好治理的关键。然而，目前我国行政问责制在实践中仍面临异体问责薄弱、问责法律缺失、政府信息公开匮乏等诸多困境。因此，将成为加强异体问责，实现问责主体的多元化；健全行政问责的法律体系；推行政务公开，实现“阳光行政”。