The formula developed for allocating broadcast time in the 1999 South African election is simple in its conception, though complex in its detail, since it takes account of the fact that there are both national and provincial lists for the National Assembly elections - and that elections for the provincial assembly take place simultaneously. In addition, many radio stations only broadcast on a provincial basis, not a national one.
Direct access time was available only on radio, not television, on the basis that television broadcasting would favour richer parties that had the money to make well-produced and sophisticated campaign advertisements.
The underlying principles behind the formula are:
A minimum for all parties
All parties receive some allocation of time because of 'The need for all parties to be heard by voters who could vote for them'.
Weighting in favour of parties fielding more candidates
'In keeping with the general principle of equitability and in recognition of the fact that the interests of the South African public are paramount, the Authority has adopted the international convention that the public is entitled to hear more from and about political parties more likely to influence policy decisions affecting the electorate, nationally and provincially.'
Weighting in favour of parties with a stronger past electoral performance
This is an adaptation of the formula used in 1994, when most parties in South Africa had no electoral history. The weighting is based upon national and provincial parliamentary seats held. However, the Independent Broadcasting Authority has retained the discretion to use opinion poll findings to determine this element of the formula. This is presumably in case of the emergence of a significant new party that has not previously contested elections.
The Formula...
Points are allocated in relation to a number of factors. For national radio stations it is as follows:
- Minimum allocation for all parties - 20
- Current National Assembly seats - maximum 35
- Candidates standing on the national list - maximum 15
- Candidates standing on the regional list for the National Assembly - maximum 15
- Candidates standing for the provincial assemblies - maximum 15
(A similar formula operates for the regional stations - see 'mey21') The points allocated are simply a way of ranking the parties and determining the share of the available broadcast time each may be allocated.
Some observations: the minimum points score for all parties is 20 per cent of the total possible score (which could be gained only by a party holding all seats in the National Assembly). In practice, it accounts for at least a quarter of the maximum possible score. In other words although the system gives more time to the larger parties, smaller parties get a disproportionately high share - the system is weighted towards them. Second, the system gives greater weight to candidacy than incumbency. In other words only a theoretical maximum of 35 per cent of points are awarded for the number of seats held, where 45 per cent are awarded for seats contested.
See 'mex21' for full details.
