Introduction

Access to the political system is an integral part of good governance and is fast becoming a normative rule of the international system. Increasingly, governments now have to recognise that their legitimacy depends on meeting the international community's expectations and that those seeking validation of the empowerment process must patently govern with the consent of the governed. ‘Access’ in this context raises several constitutional issues. These include, firstly, freedom to organise political parties and generally to participate in the political process, including ensuring fair access for women and minorities; secondly, freedom of political expression and the right to campaign free from intimidation or other undue influences; and thirdly, the right of the adult population to vote and to elect or re-elect governments at regular intervals in free and fair elections. It is on such issues that this chapter and the next focus attention.

Political parties and democratic governance

Political parties, defined as distinctive organisations whose principal aim is to acquire and exercise political power, are the dominant feature of contemporary organised political systems.