The regulation of party switching in Africa

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Periodical article

Title:	The regulation of party switching in Africa
Authors:	Goeke, Martin Hartmann, Christof
Year:	2011
Periodical:	Journal of Contemporary African Studies (ISSN 0258-9001)
Volume:	29
Issue:	3
Pages:	263-280
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Africa
Subjects:	parliamentarians political parties constitutional law multiparty systems
External link:	https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02589001.2011.581475
Abstract:	The article presents an overview of existing regulations of party switching in Africa since the reintroduction of multiparty politics in the early 1990s. While most established democracies do not see any reason for sanctioning with legal restrictions the decision of members of parliament to change their party affiliation, in Africa many countries take a critical stance towards party switching. Frequent party switching is considered to weaken political parties, to hinder the institutionalization of party systems, and to endanger the stability of government and the legitimacy of democracy. The article distinguishes legal regulations of party switching conceptually by what is prohibited and its enforcement. A preliminary analysis shows that anti-defection laws indeed matter for party system institutionalization in Africa's emerging democracies. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]