Coalition politics in Africa, much like in other parts of the world, often emerge in situations where no single political party can secure an outright majority in elections. This necessitates parties to form coalitions or alliances with other parties to gain the necessary parliamentary seats to govern. The dynamics and reasons behind coalition formations in Africa can vary widely based on historical, social, and political contexts within each country. Many African countries are characterized by diverse ethnic and regional populations. Political parties often represent specific ethnic or regional interests, leading to fragmented party systems. Coalition-building may involve parties aligning along ethnic or regional lines to secure broader support bases. The electoral system used in a country can significantly influence coalition politics. Proportional representation systems, for example, tend to produce more fragmented parliaments and encourage coalition formation. In contrast, first-past-the-post systems may lead to more dominant single-party governments.
Published in Chapter:
Nature of Conditions and Characteristics to the Politics of Party Alliances and Coalitions in Formation of Governments in Africa
Copyright: © 2024
|Pages: 16
DOI: 10.4018/979-8-3693-1654-2.ch002
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to discuss the politics of party alliances and conditions in the formation of the government in the countries of Africa. Since the 1990s, many African countries have adopted either parliamentary or presidential forms of democratic rule to strengthen the rule of law, respect human rights and the rights of minorities, children, and women. After the end of colonial rule, the South African countries started the development process and good governance for the establishment of the welfare of the people. The democratic and democratization process has been strengthening the government institutions of countries' public and private entities for better governance. This chapter used a theoretical approach of debate to discuss Samuel P. Huntington's third wave of democratization and coalition theory to understand the democratization process which has been led by democratic government through general elections. In this electoral process, only one party was unable to form the government because it did not obtain a majority in parliament. This is why many emerging coalition governments have been established in many African countries. Moreover, this research uses the qualitative approach to describe and answer many research questions about the success and failure of the coalition governments in Africa. The case study also imposed and scanned to study of the various coalition governments in the countries of Africa. As a result, the formation of coalition governments is unusual in African countries because parties are not getting the popular vote to form a single-party government.