ABSTRACT
Are opposition parties necessary for the consolidation of democracy in newly democratizing societies? Is a viable non-racial parliamentary opposition possible in South Africa? This inquiry investigates these questions and others with a view to understanding contemporary political developments in the oppositional arena. It demonstrates that citizens’ electoral choices are primarily motivated not by racial or ethnic concerns, as is so often assumed, but rather by calculations of which party would implement policies that would be materially beneficial to themselves. Further, it maintains that the lower middle class, working class and unemployed are willing to consider electoral choices other than the African National Congress (ANC) but find that the present opposition parties do not advance policies that would promote their interests. The only organizations capable of representing these interests are the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the South African Communist Party (SACP), but these are prevented from doing so through their participation in the Tripartite Alliance with the ANC. The account concludes by arguing that a break in the Alliance would go some way to challenging the existing balance of power – a necessary requirement for the realization of COSATU’s and the SACP’s social democratic vision.
