How South Africa's Proportional Representation Electoral System Works
Summary
TLDRThe South African electoral system is explored in this script, highlighting the two-house Parliament with 400 National Assembly and 90 Provincial Council seats. The system uses proportional representation, where voters choose parties, not individuals. Closed party lists determine parliamentary candidates, with the Independent Electoral Commission overseeing elections. The system promotes representation but can lead to less accountability due to the lack of direct voter influence on candidate selection.
Takeaways
- 🏛️ South Africa's Parliament is bicameral, comprising the National Assembly with 400 seats and the National Council of Provinces with 90 seats.
- 🗳️ The electoral system is based on proportional representation, where voters cast their ballots for political parties rather than individuals.
- 😃 The National Assembly's composition reflects the proportion of votes each party receives, with roughly 10% of the vote translating to 10% of the seats.
- 📝 Each party submits a closed list of candidates to the Independent Electoral Commission, which oversees the elections; voters cannot change the order of candidates on the list.
- 🔍 The likelihood of a candidate getting a seat in Parliament is determined by their ranking on the party list, similar to searching results on Google.
- 🤔 The system can lead to less accountability as candidates are not directly chosen by voters, which contrasts with constituency-based systems like in the U.S.
- 🌐 Smaller parties can have a significant impact due to the proportional system, potentially influencing crucial new laws with just a few votes.
- 🇺🇸 In contrast to the U.S. electoral system, where the candidate with the most votes in each constituency wins, South Africa's system is more inclusive of smaller parties.
- 🤷♂️ The script humorously points out the potential obscurity of candidates lower on party lists, with a mention of a question mark next to a candidate's name.
- 🎉 The video aims to make the electoral process easy to understand, using relatable analogies and a light-hearted tone.
- 📊 The script emphasizes the importance of the electoral system in ensuring that the Parliament is representative of the diverse political views of the population.
Q & A
What are the two houses of South Africa's Parliament?
-The two houses of South Africa's Parliament are the National Assembly with 400 seats and the National Council of Provinces with 90 seats.
How does the proportional representation electoral system work in South Africa?
-In South Africa, voters vote for political parties, not individuals. The number of votes a party receives is translated into a proportion of the seats in the National Assembly, both regionally and nationally.
What is the significance of the party lists in the electoral process?
-Each political party creates a list of candidates they wish to represent them in Parliament. These lists are sent to the Independent Electoral Commission, which oversees the elections. The ranking of candidates on the list determines their likelihood of getting a seat in Parliament.
Why is the list system referred to as a 'closed list'?
-The list system is called a 'closed list' because voters can see who the parties have chosen for their lists, but they cannot make any changes to the ranking of the candidates.
What is the role of the Independent Electoral Commission in South Africa's elections?
-The Independent Electoral Commission oversees the elections, ensuring that the electoral process is fair and transparent.
How does the electoral system ensure representation for smaller parties?
-The proportional representation system allows smaller parties to have a chance at representation. If a party gets even a small percentage of the votes, they can land up with a corresponding percentage of the seats in the National Assembly.
What is the potential downside of the closed list system mentioned in the script?
-The closed list system can lead to less accountability, as candidates are not directly chosen by voters and may not be as responsive to the electorate's needs.
How does the script illustrate the difference between South Africa's electoral system and that of the U.S.?
-The script contrasts the proportional representation system in South Africa, where parties gain seats based on the percentage of votes, with the U.S. system, where candidates win seats based on winning the most votes in individual constituencies.
What is the implication of the script's mention of Cyril and the ANC?
-The script uses Cyril and the ANC as an example to illustrate that in South Africa's system, the party, not the individual candidate, is what voters choose. The party can replace a candidate even if they are well-known, like Cyril.
What does the script imply about the importance of smaller parties in the legislative process?
-The script suggests that smaller parties can have a significant impact on the legislative process, as they may hold the crucial votes needed for a new law to pass.
How does the script use the analogy of a Google search to explain the ranking of candidates on the party lists?
-The script compares the ranking of candidates on the party lists to the results of a Google search, implying that candidates lower on the list are less likely to be noticed or chosen, similar to how search results on page 200 are rarely checked.
Outlines
🏛️ South Africa's Electoral System Explained
This paragraph introduces South Africa's parliamentary system, which consists of two houses: the National Assembly with 400 seats and the National Council of Provinces with 90 seats. It explains that the electoral system is based on proportional representation, where voters cast their ballots for political parties rather than individuals. The Independent Electoral Commission manages the elections and oversees a closed list system, where parties submit their candidate lists. The ranking of candidates on these lists determines their likelihood of securing a seat in parliament. The paragraph also contrasts this system with the U.S.'s constituency-based system, highlighting the potential for smaller parties to have a significant impact in South Africa's system, but also noting the potential for less accountability due to the closed list nature.
🗳️ How Parties Secure Seats in South Africa's Parliament
This paragraph delves deeper into how political parties secure seats in the National Assembly based on the number of votes they receive. It explains the process of translating votes into a proportion of seats, both regionally and nationally. For instance, if a party receives 10% of the votes, they would theoretically secure 10% of the 400 seats in the National Assembly. The paragraph also discusses the advantages and disadvantages of South Africa's electoral system. On the positive side, it is more representative and allows smaller parties to have a significant influence, potentially affecting crucial new laws. However, the downside is that the closed list system can lead to less direct accountability of candidates to voters, as they are not individually chosen by the electorate.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Electoral System
💡National Assembly
💡National Council of Provinces
💡Proportional Representation
💡Election Day
💡Independent Electoral Commission
💡Closed List
💡Candidates
💡Accountability
💡Constituency
💡Political Parties
Highlights
South Africa's Parliament consists of two houses: the National Assembly with 400 seats and the National Council of Provinces with 90 seats.
Election day involves voting for parties, not individuals.
Parties choose the people they want to represent in Parliament and send their lists to the Independent Electoral Commission.
The electoral system is a closed list, meaning voters can see who they've chosen but cannot make changes to the candidate ranking.
The ranking of candidates on the list determines the likelihood of them getting a seat in Parliament.
The number of votes a party receives translates into a proportion of the seats in the National Assembly.
If a party gets ten percent of the votes cast, they end up with ten percent of the 400 seats in the National Assembly.
The system is more representative and gives smaller parties a chance to influence crucial new laws.
Smaller parties can have a big impact with just one or two votes.
In contrast to the U.S., South Africa's system does not split the country into constituencies where the candidate with the most votes wins.
The closed list system can lead to less accountability as candidates are not directly chosen by voters.
The ANC and other parties have party lists that determine who represents them in Parliament.
The Independent Electoral Commission oversees the elections in South Africa.
The electoral system is designed to be proportional representation.
Voters are not fooled by individual candidates' faces but vote for the party they support.
The system allows for a more balanced representation of various political parties.
The electoral process is overseen by an independent body to ensure fairness.
The system aims to bring together the smartest minds in the country to make decisions about laws governing the country.
Transcripts
so you're wondering how South Africa's
electoral system works here's a handy
crib sheet we'll make this easy peasy
South Africa's Parliament consists of
two houses the National Assembly with
400 seats and the National Council of
provinces with 90 seats this is where
all the big decisions get made about the
laws governing our country so it's a
really dignified space where the
smartest minds in our country come
together has a proportional
representation electoral system on
election day we vote for parties not
individuals so don't be fooled by Cyril
smiling face the ANC could replace him
with here his card you might have seen
the ANC and AFF party lists trending on
Twitter each party chooses the people
that wants to represent it's in
Parliament and sends their lists to the
Independent Electoral Commission which
oversees our election it's a closed list
so voters can see who they've chosen but
voters don't get to make any changes the
ranking of the candidates on the list
determines the likelihood of them
getting a seat in parliament it's kind
of like when you google something when
wind last did you check page 200 of the
search results and we checked out the
Daz list and even they don't seem too
sure about their candidate we spotted a
question mark next to elf CBO station's
name sorry Elsa B has tagged justice for
elderly so how the parties actually get
seats in the house
okay not like this basically the number
of votes our party received is
translated into a proportion of the
seats in the National Assembly
first regionally then nationally so
roughly if a party gets ten percent of
the votes cast they land up with ten
percent of the 400 seats in the house so
what's good and bad about the system our
system is more representative and gives
smaller parties a chance sometimes all
it takes is one or two votes for that
crucial new law to pass so smaller
parties can have a big impact but in
other systems like in the u.s. the
country is split up into constituencies
and the candidate that wins the most
votes in each constituency gets a seat
that's how Trump won the election even
though Hillary got more votes than him
the bad thing about our system is that
the close list can lead to less
accountability as candidates aren't
directly chosen by voters
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