Time to bring democracy back to Parliament

The author contends that the South African Parliament has become increasingly irrelevant because Members of Parliament (MPs) are accountable to their political parties rather than the electorate. To remedy this, the text proposes moving from a proportional representation party-list system to a mixed electoral system with constituency-based voting, as recommended by the Van Zyl Slabbert task team. Additionally, it suggests implementing a mandatory 'candidates' charter' that would require MPs to hold regular public meetings, declare assets and expenses, and be subject to a constituency right of recall for failure to adhere to these undertakings.

• The South African Parliament suffers from a democratic deficit where MPs are primarily accountable to their political parties instead of the citizens they represent, leading to a decline in public faith and trust in the institution.
• The current party-list proportional representation system is identified as a cause of the disconnect between MPs and the electorate, as it strengthens party discipline at the expense of constituency linkages.
• The author advocates for the adoption of a mixed electoral system, incorporating multi-member, constituency-based voting, to improve local democratic linkages and electoral accountability.
• To increase direct public power over representatives, the document proposes a mandatory social charter for candidates that would include requirements for public meetings, asset declarations, and a mechanism for the electorate to recall MPs.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2006). Time to bring democracy back to Parliament. https://saiia.org.za/research/time-to-bring-democracy-back-to-parliament/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Time to bring democracy back to Parliament. 2006. https://saiia.org.za/research/time-to-bring-democracy-back-to-parliament/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Time to bring democracy back to Parliament |date=3 February 2006 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/time-to-bring-democracy-back-to-parliament/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2006time, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Time to bring democracy back to Parliament}}, publisher = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2006}, month = feb, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/time-to-bring-democracy-back-to-parliament/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }