You're a keen supporter of democracy — you get up early; stand in the queue; get the impossible-to-remove black scribble on your finger; make your X (twice); and hope like hell that your preferred candidate wins the election.

And that's about as far as it goes. You have no idea where those two votes go (or even why you have to vote twice); you're a bit vague on the whole proportional representation thing; and you're still trying to figure out why, unlike Americans, you can't vote for the president of your choice. Don't worry, you're not alone. In fact, the majority of South Africans have no idea how our electoral system works.

Understanding the basics

South Africa has a three-tier system of government and the national, provincial and local levels of government all have legislative and executive authority in their own spheres. This is why provinces or cities can be 'governed' by a party which is not the ruling party.

At a national level, Parliament consists of two chambers — the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces (formerly known as the Senate).

The National Assembly consists of between 350 and 400 members (MPs) and the number of seats awarded to each party is directly proportional to the outcome of the national election (hence the system of proportional representation).

Because of the system of proportional representation, the seats in the National Assembly (ballot one) are filled using party lists submitted by the various parties. Half of the seats in the National Assembly are filled using national lists and the other half are filled using regional lists to ensure regional/provincial representation (distribution differs depending on the voting weight of the province).

South African voters do not get to vote for individual candidates on a national level. Similarly, we do not vote for our president. The president is elected by the National Assembly (therefore it follows that it will be the candidate put forward by the party who gains the most seats in the National Assembly). The president in turn appoints the Cabinet.

The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) exists to align the interests of the various provinces with national interests. It consists of 90 members (54 permanent member and 36 special delegates). Each of South Africa's nine provinces sends a delegation of 10 representatives to the NCOP, headed by the provincial premier (or an assigned representative). There is a formula in place to ensure that minority parties are not overlooked in the delegations.

When it comes to legislation-making, any bill passed in the National Assembly must be referred to the NCOP for consideration (to be passed, amended or rejected). The National Assembly may override decisions taken by the NCOP with a two thirds majority (hence the importance of the number). Bills amending the Constitution, however, require a two thirds majority in the National Assembly as well as a supporting vote from six of the nine provinces represented in the NCOP. Any amendment to Section I of the Constitution (which deals with the State's founding principles) requires a 75 percent majority in the National Assembly.

Your second ballot is for the Provincial Legislature. In much the same way that voting for the National Assembly works, political parties are represented on the ballot paper and you vote for the party that you think will best represent your interests at a provincial level. In line with the system of proportional representation, seats are filled using party lists. The distribution of seats is also directly proportional to the percentage of the vote that each province holds.

PR system vs a constituency system

Although the proportional representation (PR) system falls short when it comes to the accountability of public representatives, it does have some advantages. The first is that it is fair. In a PR system every vote counts and all votes are equal (which is not always the case in constituency systems). It ensures demographic and political inclusivity — even minority groups have a voice in the legislation-making sphere of government, despite an overwhelming ANC majority. And finally, it is simple. In a country where a significant percentage of the population is illiterate, it is important to have a simple electoral system.

The biggest problem with a PR system is that voters cannot directly elect their public representative (including the president). This means that the power lies with the political parties rather than the people. Under the PR system, the president and all public representatives are accountable to their parties and not the voting public. This creates an environment in which representatives will behave in ways which benefit the party leadership rather than the public.

The constituency system (as used in the UK and US), in which the public elects their representatives directly, circumvents the problem of accountability, but has its own problem of potential electoral distortion. It was this system which saw the National Party (and their ally the Afrikaner Party) come to power in the 1948 elections with a mere 40 percent of the popular vote, while the United Party and its allies lost the election with 60 percent of the vote and 52.7 percent of the seats in Parliament.

A possible solution to the problem (which has been suggested by some of the opposition parties) is a hybrid system, such as that used in Germany, which combines the PR and constituency systems and enables voters to choose between political parties and candidates, without sacrificing the benefits of the PR system.

So, in a nutshell: you vote for parties not people; your first ballot is for the National Assembly; your second ballot (which may or may not be different) is for the Provincial Legislature. Got it? Good!

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