Contents
Introduction 2
Obligations of the IEC 2
Duties of the IEC 2
Challenges that the IEC faces (all according to DR BAM) 2
Voter Turnout (2008) 2
Party Funding (2008) 3
Floor Crossing (2008) 3
Democracy and Development 3
Media Challenges (2008) 4
Financial Challenges in 2013 4
IT Challenges in 2013 4
HR Challenges in 2013 5
Conclusion 6
Introduction
It is well-known that the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) is an everlasting body created by the Constitution to oversee the conduct of free and fair voting at every level of government yet only becomes significantly evident to the people during the hype or build-up of elections. It is inevitable that any project that requires a systematic approach faces challenges and the IEC has
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According to Dr Bam there could be a direct association between party funding and the fact that bigger parties has better access to media can also be the reason why bigger parties is at the more favourable end of the raw deal. This was one of the major issues discussed at the conference held in 2008 which can in turn be viewed as an upper management problem which automatically points to HR and because budget and money is involved it also now becomes a financial management problem.
Floor Crossing (2008)
Dr. Bam pointed out that even though party crossing was a common characteristic among some very recognized democracies in the whole world, its execution in South Africa has highlighted some interesting issues and concerns for the democracy of our country. Dr. Bam stated that over the year’s floor crossing has formulated negative opinions as it is perceived as opposing the decisions made by the people and did not uphold democracy as it compromised the end result of the elections. According Dr. Bam, the IEC has submitted a request to the parliament against/or to eliminate floor crossing in 2001. Dr. Bam also challenged political parties to take a stand on this issue and make their voices heard to the Parliamentary structures.
Democracy and Development
At the conference Dr. Bam also brought up the topic of the interrelation
In Political Parties and Party Systems, Alan Ware summarizes the two main competing theories that attempt to explain party systems. First, the Sociological approach and then the Institutional approach. In order to comprehend his analysis it is necessary to realize that party systems are in a constant state of evolution, they do not remain stagnant. This evolution may, at times, be imperceptible and at others very noticeable, such as during a revolution; but the change is undoubtedly occurring. It is much easier to understand these theories if you view these two theories from a flexible standpoint as opposed to having a concrete beginning and end with exact delineations in between.
Some common issues that political parties present can include problems with inequality, wrong education of the people, the spread of communal hatred, and the decrease of personal individuality. Issues with inequality originate from the thought that one political party doesn’t have the right to make decisions for the public and many citizens may not support everything that a specific Party supports. Educational issues with the political system are caused by political parties trying to obtain votes through false promises and propaganda, this type of advertisement creates misunderstandings among citizens. The spread of communal hatred is based on the fact that many people believe that religion based parties create hatred against other communities and cause conflict in our country. The decrease of personal individuality has also become an issue, this refers to how political parties expect people to follow them blindly and how these parties refuse to be criticized for their own shortcomings.
In this country, we hold elections every four years to select the president. The founding fathers of our country established the electoral college to give the original thirteen states a fair voice in the election process. This country electoral called the electoral college into question on more the one occasion. In the most recent election, President-elect Donald Trump won the electoral vote over Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote. This election has sent the country into an uproar and citizens of the United States are now challenging the legitimacy of the electoral college process. This paper will examine whether this process is reliable and valid when choosing the leadership of this country.
Every time there is an election in the United States, the debate of Electoral College always heats up, and suddenly everybody seems to know about or at least they are interested in learning about it. The Electoral College is firmly established under the United States Constitution to elect the president and the vice president of the United States indirectly. A slate of “electors” are chosen from each state, and they are the ones responsible for voting for president in the general elections depending on which party the candidate is vying with. From this statement, what it means is that one does not choose his or her preferred leader directly and this has made many suggestions that the Electoral College is not a true representation of democracy. This paper will look at the strongest arguments for and against the Electoral College, analyze whether the current Electoral College should be re-engineered or scrapped in favor of direct vote and finally determine if the Electoral College is consistent or contrary to democratic principle.
Political parties are critical structures in the modern society and universal phenomena in most democracies. In fact, they form major objects of intensive study as they are usually the centre of political and social power. They engage in most activities that are of significant consequence in the lives of citizens and link the common populace to the government. Therefore, it is important to understand political parties fully from every perspective of political systems so obtain their real importance in democracies. A political party is basically a group of citizens who converge as voters, activists, electoral candidates and office holders with a common party label and seek to elect party members into public offices. While modern political
ELECTIONS are based on three organizing concepts: equal respect, free choice, and popular sovereignty are the building blocks of fair and just elections. The democratic process should treat all citizens as free and equal persons. As applied to the electoral process this requires that each citizen equal opportunity to have his or her vote equally counted.
As technology has evolved there have become more ways to cast a vote than ever before. Most people are familiar with the traditional way of
"Choosing Sides: The Rise of Party Politics." Choosing Sides: The Rise of Politics. Web. 21 July
The electoral collage is a dishonesty to voters, it is an unfair system. In “The
The reasoning for the appointment of a special presidential electoral commission in 1877 is that Humdrum Hayes was running against Samuel J. Tilden. Tilden got 184 electoral votes when he needed 185. He had also polled 247,448 more popular votes than Hayes. Both parties set off to send “visiting statesmen” to the three still-contested states known as Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina. As weeks drifted by the constitution specifies that the electoral returns from the states would be sent to congress, and in the House and Senate they will be opened. If it were to be counted by the president of the Senate, the Republicans would be selected. If it were to be counted by the Speaker if the House, the democratic side would be chosen. The agreement
It is difficult to completely understand and in a way appreciate what the Electoral College is if you don’t understand it. Therefore, this paper will go in depth as to how the voting process works in the United States, with a main focus on the Electoral College. I will start by talking about the background, what challenges and problems it was trying to solve, how it came to be and who came up with such idea. Secondly, I would talk about the advantages the Electoral College possesses, such as it keeps small states as viable participants, it maintains division of power and how it’s beneficial to the candidates and their campaign. But as with everything, there are also some disadvantages that come with such, example, ignoring the will of the
The Electoral College has been a system that the United States of America keeps in use since the constitution has first been in place in 1787. Now that times have changed how presidents can display them self publically with media, internet and travel from place to place in a few hours, it has led the question if the Electoral College is still the most unique way to elect a new president. The drawbacks of having the Electoral College are as notable as other methods, due to the voting system not being unified creates another issue that raises questions of what could be the best way to vote for a candidate equally for each state. The result of this explanation of each method will result to appointing the instant runoff voting method to be
In the land of politics, the more money that one has is the better. This is no exception when it comes to campaigns and elections. The goal of any political campaign is to get their nominee the votes they need to win. Whether this is through negative or positive campaign tactics, one thing can fuel a campaigns success is money. Money in a campaign means that more advertising can be bought. This is the perfect way to get the candidate seen by the public and is also a way to paint a negative picture of the other candidate. However, questions can be raised where does the money that funds campaigns or campaign advertisement come from, should there be regulations imposed to monitor where it comes from and what part of the campaign does this money fund? Questions like these and more were answered in the Supreme Court Case Citizens United Vs. Federal Election Commissions and many were not happy about this ruling.
Since the initiation of the Third Wave of Democracy, several countries have attempted to form a democratic system of governs. We take note that not all have succeeded. At the dawn of this era, democracy was being applied to countries with no prior history of a governing body that was place by the people for the people hence success of such a system could not be guaranteed because of the innumerous variables that existed in each country. People being the highlighted factor of variance, it may become easier to understand how countries such as Pakistan and Nigeria, both countries prior to the Wave had no local governing machinery. Pakistan further endured a partition from India which resulted in not only an instant religious and
citizens to participate in the selection of a government. When conducted to international standards, elections tend to confer legitimacy on a government. In the Commonwealth Caribbean, the electoral experience varies and tends to reflect not only the socio-political culture of the member state but also its particular electoral system.