Bien que le caractère fondamental du droit de vote ne soit plus contesté dans les pays démocratiques, il semble néanmoins subsister un fort a priori quant aux qualités morales requises pour pouvoir disposer de la capacité électorale. En effet, dans de nombreux États, on considère que les détenus doivent systématiquement être privés de leur droit de vote, car indignes de participer à la vie démocratique. Néanmoins, tant la Cour constitutionnelle d’Afrique du Sud que la Cour suprême du Canada et la Cour européenne des droits de l’Homme ont invalidé des dispositions législatives qui allaient en ce sens. L’analyse comparative de ces décisions, doublée d’une étude de l’évolution historique du droit de vote, révèle que ce droit, autrefois conçu comme un droit fonctionnel – soit un droit de vote ayant d’abord pour objectif la protection de la démocratie en tant qu’institution – est aujourd’hui perçu essentiellement comme un droit individuel - soit un droit de vote avant tout défini comme un droit fondamental attaché à l’individu et à sa dignité. Or, outre le fait que cette sacralisation de l’aspect individuel du droit de vote laisse désormais peu de place aux limitations étatiques, elle a aussi pour effet d’occulter les valeurs collectives qui sont, autant que la participation individuelle au suffrage, au cœur de la démocratie. Cette thèse propose ainsi certaines pistes de solutions qui visent à rétablir un équilibre entre les deux pôles du droit de vote, en cherchant à la fois à préserver la dignité individuelle attachée à l’acte électoral et à valoriser la dignité de la fonction électorale comme élément essentiel de l’intégrité du processus démocratique / While the fundamental and universal nature of a citizen’s right to participate in the electoral process through voting is no longer disputed in democracies, the degree of morality required for electoral capacity is still up for debate. Indeed, in many countries, felons are thought unworthy of participation in the democratic process and are thus systematically disenfranchised. However, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Supreme Court of Canada and the European Court of Human Rights have all, in recent years, invalidated legislation that provided for general and automatic disqualification of convicted felons. A comparative analysis of these rulings, paired with a study of historical evolution of the right to vote, reveals that what was once designed as a functional right, one primarily aimed at protecting democracy as an institution, is now perceived strictly as an individual right attached to one’s personal dignity. The shift from a right focused on its “subject” rather than its “object” has had unexpected consequences. The sanctification of the individual’s right has not only encroached on the government’s ability to limit the franchise, it has also undermined the collective values that are, as much as is the individual right to participate in the election, at the heart of democracy. This thesis proposes a number of solutions to the current imbalance between the two aspects of the right to vote, all aimed at preserving the individual dignity tied to the right to cast a ballot but also at promoting the electoral function, crucial to the integrity of the democratic process

En décembre 1968, le gouvernement du Québec adopte deux lois implantant le suffrage universel dans toutes les municipalités de la province. Les résidents qui ont vingt et un ans et plus peuvent donc désormais voter aux élections municipales de la ville dans laquelle ils résident s’ils sont citoyens canadiens et s’ils y sont domiciliés depuis au moins un an. C’est également le cas des non-résidents propriétaires ou locataires d’un bloc à logements, d’un commerce ou d’un bureau sur le territoire de la ville. Au départ, la Ville de Montréal refuse de se soumettre aux dispositions de ces lois. Elle maintient sur son territoire une conception du droit de vote municipal qui limite son exercice à certains propriétaires et aux locataires contribuables. Qu’est-ce qui motive la Ville à refuser d’emboîter le pas au gouvernement québécois et d’adopter cette réforme? Mon mémoire vise à mettre au jour les raisons pour lesquelles la municipalité adopte une telle décision, qui suscite à l’époque le mécontentement de plusieurs groupes militants montréalais. Pourquoi avoir décidé de limiter ainsi l’exercice d’un droit aussi fondamental? Pour répondre à cette question, j’ai dépouillé des procès-verbaux de débats parlementaires, des articles de journaux et des textes de loi, en plus de consulter des sources historiographiques. Le mémoire avance que Montréal soutient durant la période étudiée une forme de citoyenneté urbaine qui est de nature méritante et exclusiviste. Elle s’oppose à celle du gouvernement du Québec, qui se veut universelle et inclusive, mais qui reconduit toutefois certaines caractéristiques méritantes. De plus, mon étude affirme que les groupes militants montréalais de l’époque, regroupés au sein du parti politique « Front d’action politique », soutiennent une citoyenneté urbaine qui assure une réelle égalité politique pour les résidents montréalais, et confronte les autorités politiques sur leur définition de la citoyenneté à Montréal. / In December 1968, Quebec’s provincial government passed two laws introducing universal suffrage in all municipalities on its territory. Residents who are twenty-one or older, provided they were Canadian citizens domiciled in the city for at least a year, were now allowed to vote in the municipal elections. This was also the case for non-residents who owned or rented an apartment block, business, or office in the city. Initially, the City of Montreal refused to abide by the provisions of these laws. It maintained a version of the municipal right to vote on its territory which limited its exercise to certain owners or taxpaying tenants. What was the City's motivation for refusing to follow the provincial government's lead and adopt this reform? My thesis aims to uncover the reasons why the municipality embraced such a choice, which was met at the time with discontent by several activist groups in Montreal. Why limit the exercise of such a fundamental right? To answer this question, I examined the minutes of parliamentary debates, newspaper articles and legislative texts, as well as various historiographical sources. My thesis therefore considers that the City of Montreal supports a form of urban citizenship during the period studied that is meritorious and exclusivist in nature. It opposes the Quebec government’s proposed form of citizenship, which is universal and inclusive but retains certain meritorious characteristics. Furthermore, my thesis argues that Montreal activist groups of the time, grouped within the political party « Front d’action politique », supported a form of urban citizenship that ensured real political equality for Montreal residents, and confronted the political authorities on their definition of citizenship in Montreal.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:25:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marcia S S Cargano.pdf: 335010 bytes, checksum: 07dd6a67e9e3e80c95b150cc3ed60ab3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-05-21 / This study aims to understand not only how the multiple vote works and its mathematics, instituted by the article 141 of Brazilian Corporations Act (Lei das S.A.), but also the practicing of the right to vote. The Brazilian Corporations Act has implemented the multiple vote with the idea of multiplying the number of stocks by the number of members who will be elected. This criterion was originally adopted for the parliamentarians election in England and in the United States. The minor stockholders, apart from the other minor stockholders or together with them, will always be minor. According to the existing established conditions, they will never get the board of director s control, but, at least, they get the controller s attention to their existence when they carry out their right to vote and, mainly, their right of being able to elect. The Multiple Vote, which is found in Brazilian Corporations Act Law n. 6.404, dated December, 15 1976 , mainly considering the percentage reduction of detained stocks given by Brazilian Securities Commission (Comissão de Valores Mobiliários CVM), brings to the minor stockholders the possibility of participating in the corporation management in which they maintain their invested equity. The Corporative Management concept influences more and more the stock market and the stock corporations laws, allowing to the investors the possibility of participating in the decisions with the control block and the chance of accessing the company information / O presente trabalho busca entender o funcionamento do voto múltiplo em sua forma matemática, instituída pelo artigo 141 da Lei das S.A., e o exercício do direito de voto. A Lei das Sociedades Anônimas implementou o voto múltiplo com o critério de multiplicar o número de ações pelo número de membros que serão eleitos. Esse critério foi adotado originalmente para a eleição de parlamentares na Inglaterra e nos Estados Unidos da América. Os acionistas minoritários, de forma isolada ou em conjunto com outros minoritários, serão sempre minoritários, nunca conseguirão, na forma atualmente preceituada, o controle do Conselho de Administração, mas chamam a atenção do controlador para sua existência quando exercem o direito de voto e, principalmente, o de poder eleger. O Voto Múltiplo, contido na Lei das Sociedades Anônimas Lei n. 6.404, de 15 de dezembro de 1976 , principalmente com a redução de percentual de ações detidas, conferida pela Comissão de Valores Mobiliários CVM, traz ao minoritário a possibilidade de participar da gestão societária da empresa em que mantém seu patrimônio investido. O conceito de Governança Corporativa influencia, cada vez mais, o Mercado de Capitais e as leis das sociedades empresárias, permitindo aos investidores em sociedades de capital aberto, cada vez mais, a possibilidade de participar, ao lado do bloco de controle, das decisões e, principalmente, de ter acesso às informações da sociedade

ABSTRACT Jean-Michel Lafleur Title of the dissertation: Political Transnationalism and the State The first part of the thesis consists in a review of the literature and a conceptual discussion about the concept of immigrant transnationalism and immigrant political transnationalism. This discussion shows that a series of gaps currently exists in the research on the links between the emigrants and the home country. Two of such gaps are underlined in the thesis. On the one hand, it remains difficult to determine why states decide to extend political citizenship to their citizens abroad. On the other hand, the influence of the state on its emigrant community seems neglected for the benefit of a post-national vision of citizenship. These are the gaps that this thesis is trying to address. The second part of the thesis presents in three case studies the results of the empirical research conducted in Italy, Belgium and Mexico. Some elements of migration history introduce each case and is then followed by an extensive analysis of the debate on the extension of political citizenship (especially the right to vote from abroad). A special focus is put on the role of internal actors (political parties, administrations) and external actors (migrants, associations). In the third part of the thesis, the author conducts a comparative analysis of the three cases. By doing so, the reasons why states extend political citizenship to citizens residing abroad appears clearly. It also leads to reject the post-national vision of citizenship supported by some scholars. After the presentation of the four variables pushing to act as they do in the field of external political citizenship, the thesis concludes by opening up new research tracks in the field of political transnationalism. RESUME DE LA THESE EN FRANçAIS Jean-Michel Lafleur Titre de la thèse (traduit) : Le transnationalisme politique et lEtat Titre original de la thèse: Political Transnationalism and the State La première partie consiste en une revue de la littérature et une discussion conceptuelle sur les concepts de transnationalisme et de transnationalisme politique dans le champ des études migratoires. Cet exercice met en lumière une série de lacunes dans la recherche actuelle sur les liens entre les émigrés et le pays dorigine. Deux de ces lacunes sont particulièrement mises en évidence. Dune part, il a y la difficulté de dégager les raisons poussant différents états à travers le monde à étendre la citoyenneté politique à leurs citoyens établis à létranger, et cela, en raison du faible nombre de projets de recherches comparatifs. Dautre part, le rôle de lEtat semble négligé dans la littérature existante en raison de la prégnance dune vision post-nationale de la citoyenneté dans nombre détudes sur les liens entre pays dorigine et émigrés. La deuxième partie est constituée de la restitution des données empiriques collectées dans trois pays: Belgique, Italie, Mexique. Chacun des cas détude est introduit pas une brève introduction au profil migratoire du pays. Ensuite, il est procédé à une analyse du débat sur lextension de la citoyenneté politique entre acteurs internes (partis, administrations, pouvoir judiciaire) et externes (migrants, associations). La troisième partie consiste en une analyse comparative des trois cas détude. Il ressort de cette analyse que quatre variables poussent les états à étendre la citoyenneté politique externe. Chacune dentre elles est examinée dans une dimension comparative. Le travail de thèse conclut en soulignant lapport de la dissertation au champ de la recherche sur le transnationalisme dans les études migratoires et ouvre une série de pistes pour des recherches futures.

L'étranger a toujours eu un statut particulier en France. Déjà, sous l'Ancien Régime, celui-ci est soumis à une réglementation différente jusqu'à la Révolution française qui, malgré un vent nouveau ayant entraîné l'application d'un grand nombre d'idées novatrices et la création de droits importants, ne permet pourtant pas à ce dernier d'être considéré comme un citoyen. Il ne cesse alors de faire l'objet d'exclusion, tant au niveau social que politique. Cette situation se perpétuera jusque sous la III° République avant de s'accentuer sous le régime de Vichy. Après la guerre, le Préambule de la constitution du 27 octobre 1946 consacre de nouveaux droits constitutionnels économiques et sociaux. Pourtant, en dehors de l'alinéa 4 du Préambule sur le droit d'asile, aucun article ne vise spécifiquement l'étranger. Il en est, par exemple, ainsi du droit à la protection sociale qui n'est devenu effectif que bien après son affirmation, ce qui n'a pas manqué de poser quelques difficultés. Il faut, de plus, attendre l'adoption du Traité de Maastricht en 1992 pour voir émerger un statut supplémentaire de l'étranger, avec l'apparition de la notion de citoyenneté européenne. Ce nouveau statut confère aux ressortissants communautaires un droit de vote et d'éligibilité à certaines élections. Ainsi, une problématique principale se dégage du sujet. La question qui se pose est donc de savoir comment un droit historiquement contesté a finalement pu être progressivement affirmé. Cela soulève dès lors la question de savoir si, de la même manière, des droits actuellement contestés, comme le droit de vote local des étrangers, pourront un jour être affirmés. / The foreigner has always had a special status in France. Under the Old Regime, he is subject to different regulations, until the French Revolution which, despite having a wind driven implementation of many innovative ideas and the creation of important rights does not allow him to be considered as a citizen yet. He doesn't cease to be the subject of exclusion, at both social and political levels. This situation has been perpetuated under the Third Republic before being widened under the Vichy regime. After the World War, the Preamble of the 27 October 1946's Constitution dedicates new economic and social constitutional rights. Yet, except paragraph 4 of the Preamble on the political asylum, no article specifically targets the foreigner. If political rights are actually denied to him, it is the same for social rights, because of the economic and financial consequences. It is, for example, the right to social protection that has become effective after its statement, which caused some difficulties. Moreover, it is the adoption of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 that gives other status to the foreigner, with the emergence of the concept of European citizenship. This new status gives EU citizens the right to vote and stand in some elections. Thus, a main problem emerges from the subject. The question is how a historically disputed right was finally declared. This therefore raises the question of whether, in the same way, human rights now denied, as the foreigners' local voting rights, may one day be affirmed.

The purpose of this study is to examine how Swedish inmates can utilize the right to vote during their time in prison. To fulfill the purpose, the study investigates how the Swedish Prison and Probation Service arrange elections in different prisons. Interviews with representatives of the Swedish Prison and Probation Service, as well as with a previous inmate, are conducted to show how the different prisons work with arranging elections and encouraging the prisoners to vote. The results are analyzed with a qualitative method. A theory of social inclusion and the right to vote as a positive right is used to analyze the data. The data shows that prisons work differently with arranging elections and most of the prison representatives thinks that there should be room for different approaches due to security level, clients and other conditions. The representatives of the prisons that participated in the study perceive the directions from the Swedish Prison and Probation Service differently which could imply a need for clearer information. The level of participation from the inmates differs, which could correlate to the efforts being done by the prison to encourage the inmates to vote. The conclusions that can be drawn from the study is that cooperation with other relevant actors is necessary to arrange elections where all inmates can participate, and that encouraging efforts from the prisons are needed to secure the inmates’ right to vote.

Pendant la période de la Première Guerre mondiale, les démocraties ont commencé à accorder le droit de vote aux femmes. Bien qu’il existe certaines exceptions ayant permis aux femmes de voter partiellement ou provisoirement avant 1893, les femmes n’étaient pas officiellement autorisées à voter avant cette date. Au Québec, ce droit n'a été accordé qu'en 1940, ce qui en a fait la dernière province canadienne à accorder le droit de vote aux femmes. Cela soulève des interrogations concernant l’impact de ce retard sur les résultats électoraux en faveur des partis politiques de droite. Ce mémoire entreprend d'évaluer l'impact de l'obtention du droit de vote des femmes sur les résultats électoraux, avec une attention particulière portée sur la province du Québec. Ce mémoire se base sur l’hypothèse postulant que l'obtention du suffrage féminin augmente le soutien aux partis politiques de droite. Cette hypothèse découle d'un cadre théorique plus large envisageant d'autres possibilités, telles que le fait que les femmes pourraient soutenir les partis progressistes ou adopter un comportement politique similaire à celui des hommes engendrant aucune différence dans les résultats du vote. La préférence pour s’attarder aux partis de droite est justifiée par les valeurs et l'influence de la religion catholique au Québec. Deux types d’analyses sont présentées dans ce mémoire, l'une visant à établir si le droit de vote des femmes a eu un impact sur le soutien aux partis de droite à travers les provinces canadiennes, alors que l'autre porte sur le Québec uniquement. L’analyse portant sur les provinces canadiennes utilise des données couvrant la période de 1897 à 1960 alors que la deuxième analyse se concentre sur le Québec en examinant les circonscriptions entre 1927 et 1960. À l’échelle des provinces canadiennes, l'élargissement du droit de vote des femmes semble lié à un déclin du soutien envers les partis de droite. Toutefois, les résultats de l'analyse effectuée au Québec révèlent une tendance opposée au niveau des circonscriptions : les élections qui ont suivi l'obtention du droit de vote ont engendré un soutien accru envers les partis de droite, principalement l'Union nationale. Ainsi, l'hypothèse ne se confirme que dans le contexte spécifique du Québec. / During the period of World War I, democracies began to grant women the right to vote. Although there were some exceptions that allowed women to vote before partially or provisionally 1893, women were not officially allowed to vote before that date. In Quebec, this right was not granted until 1940, making it the last Canadian province to grant women the right to vote. This raises questions about the impact of this delay on the electoral results in favor of right-wing political parties. This dissertation undertakes to evaluate the impact of obtaining the right to vote for women on electoral results, with particular attention paid to the province of Quebec. This thesis is based on the hypothesis postulating that obtaining female suffrage increases support for right-wing political parties. This hypothesis arises from a broader theoretical framework considering other possibilities, such as that women might support progressive parties or engage in similar political behavior to men resulting in no difference in voting outcomes. The preference to focus on right-wing parties is justified by the values and influence of the Catholic religion in Quebec. Two types of analyzes are presented in this dissertation, one aimed at establishing whether women's right to vote had an impact on support for right-wing parties across the Canadian provinces, while the other focuses on Quebec. uniquely. The analysis relating to the Canadian provinces uses data covering the period from 1897 to 1960 while the second analysis focuses on Quebec by examining the constituencies between 1927 and 1960. At the level of the Canadian provinces, the expansion of the right women's voting rate appears linked to a decline in support for right-wing parties. However, the results of the analysis carried out in Quebec reveal an opposite trend at the constituency level: the elections which followed obtaining the right to vote generated increased support for right-wing parties, mainly the Union Nationale. Thus, the hypothesis is only confirmed in the specific context of Quebec.

Les contrats civils appliqués aux actions ont pour finalité le transfert, souvent provisoire, des différents droits politiques et financiers inhérents à ces titres : les droits politiques convoités sont le droit de vote et la qualité d’actionnaire afin de devenir administrateur, si les statuts l’imposent ; les droits financiers permettent quant à eux de transmettre l’entreprise et d’utiliser les actions comme garantie. Pour opérer ces transferts, les praticiens utilisent des contrats classiques, souvent issus du Code civil, mais aussi des contrats d’inspiration civiliste qui emploient des techniques civilistes, leur empruntent une partie de leurs régimes juridiques et poursuivent les mêmes finalités. Toutefois, ces contrats ne donnent pas entière satisfaction : les uns ont un régime juridique souple mais n’offrent pas une sécurité juridique suffisante ; les autres sont au contraire fiables mais affligés d’un régime juridique contraignant. Le législateur, en instituant la fiducie, pouvait remédier à ces inconvénients. Mais si la fiducie offre une grande sécurité juridique, c’est toujours au détriment de la liberté contractuelle. Une nouvelle réforme de la fiducie est donc indispensable. / Civilian contracts applied to shares are intended to transfer, often temporary, different political and financial rights inherent to these shares : the coveted political rights include the right to vote and the share holder to become a director, if the corporation charter so require ; the financial rights allow to enable them to transfer the business and use the shares as guarantee. In making such transfers,practitioners use standard contracts, often from the Civil Code, but also contracts inspired by civiliantechniques who employ techniques civilians, borrow some of their legal systems and pursue the same aims. However, these contracts are not entirely satisfactory : some have a flexible legal system but do not offer sufficient legal certainty, the others are reliable but afflicted by a binding legal regime. The legislator, in establishing the trust, could overcome these drawbacks. But if the trust provides greater legal certainty, it is always at the expense of the freedom of contract. A new reform of the trust isessential.

The Republic of South Africa entered into a new constitutional dispensation in 1994. As part of this new constitutional dispensation, a new electoral system, i.e. the closed-list proportional representative electoral system, was adopted. This electoral system was accepted for elections on a national level of representatives for the National Assembly and has certain advantages and disadvantages. Some political scientists, political parties and opinion formers are of the opinion that this electoral system brings about poor contact between the representatives in the National Assembly (Parliament) and the voters. Critics are also of the opinion that party leaders obtain too much power within this electoral system, in that the parties appoint candidates to the candidate lists. In elections, voters vote for specific political parties and therefore do not have a choice with regard to who their representatives are. The result is that South Africa adheres to the representative aspect of democracy, but is lacking with regard to the accounting of representatives to voters. The legitimacy of Parliament is impaired by this defect. The aim of this study is to provide a critical analysis and investigate alternative frameworks of the South African electoral system and its functioning on a national level. In the analysis it is determined to what extent the South African electoral system meets the criteria set for an electoral system to ensure the legitimacy of Parliament, a sustainable representative democracy and an accountable government in the long term in the country. This analysis and evaluation was used to determine whether the existing closed-list proportional representative electoral system is the most suitable electoral system for South Africa and, if not, to identify and analyse an alternative electoral system for South Africa. The analysis entails a literature overview analysis of electoral systems. From the study it appears that modern democracies use a wide variety of different electoral systems. There is consensus that no single best electoral system exists which could be used by all countries, since every country has its distinctive circumstances and an electoral system’s functioning and outcomes are affected by it. In this study, twelve different electoral systems are identified with specific advantages and disadvantages. Criteria were set with which electoral systems had to comply in order to promote democracy and ensure the legitimacy of Parliament. These criteria require that electoral systems have to promote and ensure broad representation, accessible and meaningful elections, reconciliation, stable and effective government, accountability of government, accountability of representatives, promotion of political parties, opposition and oversight, sustainability of the electoral process, and international standards. The listed criteria were placed in order of priority according to those which are the most important in the current South African circumstances. In accordance with this, an evaluation model was drawn up which was quantified in order to calculate the extent to which every electoral system met the requirements and priority order. In determining the order of priority of the requirements in the criteria, the historical circumstances of South Africa, of discord, conflict, racial hatred, riots and suspicion between races, were taken into account. When applying the evaluation model to the twelve different electoral systems, it was found that the current closed-list proportional representative electoral system is the most suitable electoral system for South Africa and should be retained. In terms of the criticism of the current electoral system, the conclusion drawn is that electoral systems cannot ensure the measure of accountability of representatives. It is ensured by the internal rules and discipline of the political parties they represent. The contribution of electoral systems to the accountability of representatives is to ensure that voters have a choice between more than one candidate, or more than one political party at a following election. Furthermore, electoral systems also do not appoint candidates in an election; the respective political parties appoint them. In any appointment of candidates, the leadership and party bureaucracy will play a specific role, regardless of the type of electoral system. / Thesis (PhD (Political Studies))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

The Republic of South Africa entered into a new constitutional dispensation in 1994. As part of this new constitutional dispensation, a new electoral system, i.e. the closed-list proportional representative electoral system, was adopted. This electoral system was accepted for elections on a national level of representatives for the National Assembly and has certain advantages and disadvantages. Some political scientists, political parties and opinion formers are of the opinion that this electoral system brings about poor contact between the representatives in the National Assembly (Parliament) and the voters. Critics are also of the opinion that party leaders obtain too much power within this electoral system, in that the parties appoint candidates to the candidate lists. In elections, voters vote for specific political parties and therefore do not have a choice with regard to who their representatives are. The result is that South Africa adheres to the representative aspect of democracy, but is lacking with regard to the accounting of representatives to voters. The legitimacy of Parliament is impaired by this defect. The aim of this study is to provide a critical analysis and investigate alternative frameworks of the South African electoral system and its functioning on a national level. In the analysis it is determined to what extent the South African electoral system meets the criteria set for an electoral system to ensure the legitimacy of Parliament, a sustainable representative democracy and an accountable government in the long term in the country. This analysis and evaluation was used to determine whether the existing closed-list proportional representative electoral system is the most suitable electoral system for South Africa and, if not, to identify and analyse an alternative electoral system for South Africa. The analysis entails a literature overview analysis of electoral systems. From the study it appears that modern democracies use a wide variety of different electoral systems. There is consensus that no single best electoral system exists which could be used by all countries, since every country has its distinctive circumstances and an electoral system’s functioning and outcomes are affected by it. In this study, twelve different electoral systems are identified with specific advantages and disadvantages. Criteria were set with which electoral systems had to comply in order to promote democracy and ensure the legitimacy of Parliament. These criteria require that electoral systems have to promote and ensure broad representation, accessible and meaningful elections, reconciliation, stable and effective government, accountability of government, accountability of representatives, promotion of political parties, opposition and oversight, sustainability of the electoral process, and international standards. The listed criteria were placed in order of priority according to those which are the most important in the current South African circumstances. In accordance with this, an evaluation model was drawn up which was quantified in order to calculate the extent to which every electoral system met the requirements and priority order. In determining the order of priority of the requirements in the criteria, the historical circumstances of South Africa, of discord, conflict, racial hatred, riots and suspicion between races, were taken into account. When applying the evaluation model to the twelve different electoral systems, it was found that the current closed-list proportional representative electoral system is the most suitable electoral system for South Africa and should be retained. In terms of the criticism of the current electoral system, the conclusion drawn is that electoral systems cannot ensure the measure of accountability of representatives. It is ensured by the internal rules and discipline of the political parties they represent. The contribution of electoral systems to the accountability of representatives is to ensure that voters have a choice between more than one candidate, or more than one political party at a following election. Furthermore, electoral systems also do not appoint candidates in an election; the respective political parties appoint them. In any appointment of candidates, the leadership and party bureaucracy will play a specific role, regardless of the type of electoral system. / Thesis (PhD (Political Studies))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.