Local elections and local government in southern Africa

Christof Hartmann

Africa Spectrum, 2004, vol. 39, issue 2, 223-248

Abstract: With the recent wave of democratisation in Sub-Saharan Africa a new interest in elected local councils has appeared. It is also increasingly underlined by research, both from the field of development theory/politics and from comparative research on democratisation processes. These broader arguments are narrowed down by concentrating on local electoral rules, with a geographical focus on the countries of Southern Africa. The contribution presents data for all Southern African countries on the types of elected bodies at sub-national level of government, the composition of local councils, the regularity and simultaneity of local and national elections, the electoral systems and the rules governing candidature at the local level. Electoral rules are just one set of institutions that matter in local politics, and there is no doubt that other variables (such as local administration, resource allocation or capacity-building) are equally important. But the assumption is that local electoral institutions are relevant for the democratisation of both local and national politics, and should thus merit closer scrutiny. The comparative study of different countries offers additional insights into similarities or specific constraints and problems that countries face in organising local elections, as well as into the institutional solutions that they eventually opted for.

Date: 2004
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