One day workshop on Opposition Parties

The Institute's one day workshop on Opposition Parties in Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe was held on April 20th. With a mix of presentations and panel discussions, the group considered:

• How successful have opposition parties been in overcoming fragmentation and forging a united opposition, behind a single presidential candidate?
• Have they learnt from their past defeats in terms of organization-building, campaigning, etc?
• What are the prospects of opposition parties defeating incumbents in future elections?
• Is opposition politics simply a matter of patronage – i.e. paying off the leaders of parties or factions, who then pay off their followers – or are there real ideological and policy issues at play also?
• Have opposition parties or coalitions established integrated party organizational structures, including structures to plan campaigns, policy-making, etc?
• How do voters view the opposition parties?

For a full schedule of presentations, contact the Institute at idcppa@uct.ac.za