Consolidating Democracy in South Africa: Prospects and Challenges

The 1994 elections ushered in a new democracy for South Africa, delivering not only a universal right to vote, but also equality before the law, citizen participation and statutory institutions protecting democracy. Subsequent elections took place in 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014 amidst large-scale social transformation and reform, and presented to the on-looking world a picture of the extent to which democracy had been consolidated in South Africa. Democratic consolidation does not only depend on the openness and fairness of elections but also on the institutions that support the democracy. This includes independent bodies such as the Independent Electoral Commission, procedures to ensure that political parties commit themselves to the election results prior to the election, proper dispute resolution mechanisms, international election monitoring or observation, and a few more. In addition, there are institutions in South Africa, commonly referred to as Chapter Nine institutions. The main purpose of these institutions is to consolidate and protect democracy. The aim of this article is to examine how democracy has been consolidated in the last twenty-two years in South Africa, despite its challenges