CSL2601 Assignment 1
(COMPLETE ANSWERS)
Semester 1 2026 - DUE
March 2026;
, CSL2601 Assignment 1 (COMPLETE ANSWERS) Semester 1 2026 - DUE March 2026; In the
early 1990s, persons representing very different political parties (FW de Klerk of the National
Party (NP); Nelson Mandela of the African National Congress (ANC); and Mangosuthu
Buthelezi of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP)) ‘incontestably guided the country to the safe
harbour of democracy ... [a]nd they correctly deserve high praise for doing so’.’ Sustaining
democracy is certainly not easy. Leaders must be given the opportunity to establish institutions
that will continue the democracy and cause opponents to at least begin to believe that everyone
will follow the rules of the game. Although the judgment in the case of New Nation Movement
NPC and Others v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others® of 11 June 2020
declared that the party proportional representation electoral system within the national and
provincial spheres of government is unconstitutional and invalid,* section 1(d) of the
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 still maintains that South Africa is a
democracy founded on ‘regular elections and a multi-party system of democratic government, to
ensure accountability, responsiveness and openness’. Accordingly, South Africa’s democracy is
a ‘central organizing principle’ and is ‘multifaceted’. However, as Haffajee states: [from at least
2012, a political culture had emerged in the ruling party that legitimized stepping outside the
constitutional dispensation, violating its principles or ignoring the decisions of the court.® Based
on this short synopsis of South Africa’s constitutional democracy dating from 2February 1990 to
date write a well-constructed, logical, coherent, academically sound essay in which you explain
whether opposition political parties advance or erode democracy in South Africa.
CSL2601 – POLITICAL SCIENCE
Assignment 1: The Role of Opposition Political Parties in South African Democracy
(COMPLETE ANSWERS)
Semester 1 2026 - DUE
March 2026;
, CSL2601 Assignment 1 (COMPLETE ANSWERS) Semester 1 2026 - DUE March 2026; In the
early 1990s, persons representing very different political parties (FW de Klerk of the National
Party (NP); Nelson Mandela of the African National Congress (ANC); and Mangosuthu
Buthelezi of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP)) ‘incontestably guided the country to the safe
harbour of democracy ... [a]nd they correctly deserve high praise for doing so’.’ Sustaining
democracy is certainly not easy. Leaders must be given the opportunity to establish institutions
that will continue the democracy and cause opponents to at least begin to believe that everyone
will follow the rules of the game. Although the judgment in the case of New Nation Movement
NPC and Others v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others® of 11 June 2020
declared that the party proportional representation electoral system within the national and
provincial spheres of government is unconstitutional and invalid,* section 1(d) of the
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 still maintains that South Africa is a
democracy founded on ‘regular elections and a multi-party system of democratic government, to
ensure accountability, responsiveness and openness’. Accordingly, South Africa’s democracy is
a ‘central organizing principle’ and is ‘multifaceted’. However, as Haffajee states: [from at least
2012, a political culture had emerged in the ruling party that legitimized stepping outside the
constitutional dispensation, violating its principles or ignoring the decisions of the court.® Based
on this short synopsis of South Africa’s constitutional democracy dating from 2February 1990 to
date write a well-constructed, logical, coherent, academically sound essay in which you explain
whether opposition political parties advance or erode democracy in South Africa.
CSL2601 – POLITICAL SCIENCE
Assignment 1: The Role of Opposition Political Parties in South African Democracy
