South African citizen arrest not happy with the quality of democracy in the country.
Political analyst Ralph Mathekga said the critical question was the relationship between voters and the representative. What keeps the relationship healthy?
“Remember, that’s the core of democracy. Democracy is not about people being voted in and then going to save business interests. And we are not saying they should be voted in and therefore not serve business interests.
“No, we are saying when they serve those interests, those interests should be in line with their agenda of saving the broader public. We look at the quality of participation, the strength of institutions, how the law and the regulatory framework provide for that strength of institutions.
“When you use laws like the Electoral Bill to curtail, block or frustrate participation, you can’t be said to be active in the interest of democracy, you are diminishing the quality of democracy.”
In their note Democracy at Stake in South Africa, published by the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI), Michael Walsh a senior fellow and Dr Phiwokuhle Mnyandu, an academic researcher, said there were growing fears SA was teetering on the brink of state collapse and a debt crisis.
“This has left many to openly question the value of a democratic future that was delivered, absent basic rights and fundamental freedoms. This is especially true for young people who are registering to vote in relatively low numbers,” they write.
“Almost three decades after the election of Nelson Mandela, the divide between those who cherish democracy and those who do not, appears to be growing.”
Walsh and Mnyandu said over the past two decades, the government had slowly but steadily moved away from full democracy toward a hybrid regime.
Source: https://www.citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/elections/voters-dissatisfied-with-quality-of-democracy-in-sa/
Content created and supplied by: LeahWrites (via Opera
News )
