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Declining Democracy? A Case Study of Political Participation in Kwazakele Township, Port Elizabeth

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2021

Janet Cherry
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Extract

Back in the bad old days of the mid-1980s, when we in South Africa thought we were fighting a revolutionary war, we liked to believe in a slogan that some of us attempted to put into practice. The slogan (and there were many variations of it) went something like this: “In a truly democratic society, ordinary people should have control over all aspects of their lives.” This slogan embraced a philosophy of participatory democracy that was in constant tension with the militarism, secrecy, and intolerance on the other side of the liberation movement. It expressed a deep humanism, a belief that people were capable of living unselfishly and of acting collectively, not just in times of crisis and mobilization, but daily.

Type
Research Article
Information
African Issues , Volume 27 , Issue 2 , 1999 , pp. 48 - 52
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 1999 

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References

Notes

1. Richard, Turner, The Eye of the Needle—An Essay on Participatory Democracy (Johannesburg: Spro-Cas, 1972)Google Scholar; Pateman, Carole, Participation and Democratic Theory (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

2. Adler, Glenn and Steinberg, Johnny, eds., From Comrades to Citizens: The South African Civics Movement and the Transition to Democracy (London: Macmillan, 2000)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

3. Editor’s note: The UDF was the major ANC-aligned coalition of grassroots organizations in South Africa in the 1980s.

4. This survey consisted of interviews of members of households in Kwazakele in June 1999, following the election. The sample of 100 individuals was selected by identifying coordinates on a map of Kwazakele using a random number table. Respondents were over 25 years of age, and approximately half were men and half women, to reflect the demography of the area.

5. Of the survey respondents who voted, 5 voted for the PAC, 2 for the UDM, and 1 for Azapo; 4 did not wish to disclose their vote; and the other 78 voted for the ANC. The IEC’s results for Kwazakele polling stations show that between 92 and 97 percent of voters supported the ANC; 2 to 4 percent the UDM; 1 to 2 percent the PAC, and 0 to 1 percent Azapo, except for two voting stations where Azapo support was concentrated and showed 2 to 3 percent support.

6. Two survey respondents changed their vote from support for the ANC in 1994; one to the UDM and one to the PAC.

7. Albie, Sachs, Protecting Human Rights in a New South Africa (Cape Town: Oxford University Press, 1990)Google Scholar.