This policy brief considers the role of political parties in the consolidation of electoral democracy in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. Besides assessing the role of political parties in the consolidation of electoral democracy in the region, the study proposes policy recommendations that are relevant for enhancing political parties’ contribution to the democratization process in the region. Indeed, political parties play an indispensable role in electoral democracy, and its consolidation. Among others, they aggregate and represent interests, formulate public policies, mobilize and channel voters, links leaders and activists, recruit and train political leaders, structures electoral choices and coordinates the formation of governments. If political parties effectively perform these functions, the legitimacy and long term stability of electoral democracy is enhanced. Although political parties continue to play an important role in electoral democracy and its consolidation in the SADC region, they face some challenges that hamper their effectiveness. These challenges include factionalism and splits, lack of resources in the case of opposition parties, absence of links with civil society, lack of accountability by leaders, the failure to integrate previously excluded groups such as women and the youth, as well as the absence of clear policy and ideological frameworks. To overcome these challenges and thus ensure political parties effectively play their role, there is among others a need for closer interaction with the civil society, improvement of internal democracy and conflict resolution mechanisms, and the introduction of state funding for political parties where it does not exist.

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