DEMOCRACY Flashcards
What is DEMOCRACY
It is when the ordinary people of the country has a say in how the country is ruled. The citizens choose their leaders by voting for them in an election.
Where does the word DEMOCRACY come from
Greek word - Demos, means people - Kratos means power
What is Citizenship
When you have a South African ID book/card
What happens at Parliament?
Where leaders gather to discuss things
Where laws are made to apply to the country
Why do we need laws?
That we can live in peace and harmony and everybody be treated fairly
What are laws?
It’s rules that everybody must obey
What rules does a Democracy have
- All citizens have freedom and equal rights
- All citizens must obey the laws of the country, respect others
- The government must respect the constitution and citizens rights
What happened towards 1980’s with apartheid and made FW de Klerk discuss changes that would take place
- The Goverment realised that they could not continue with the apartheid policies
- Resistance toward the SA goverment grew stronger in the country and people
- Countries all over the world were apposed to SA Government
What party did FW de Klerk belong to?
The National Party
What did FW de KLERK speak about in Parliament and explain a bit.
In what year was this? (8)
In 1990 FW DE KLERK spoke about
- No seperate facilities - no more only whites or non whites facilities, everybody could use the same facilities, eg. bathrooms.
- Newspaper, tv, radio can report freely, they can now report on anything that is true, like Zuma steeling money
- Political prisoners will be free, people who were put in jail because of political opposition are released, eg. Nelson Mandela
- Excile may return to SA, people that were against the state were allowed back to live freely and vote in SA.
- Banned political parties will be unbanned eg. ANC, - Parties like ANC, PAC, Communist Party were legal to join the elections and to be voted for.
- Restrictions on political parties will be gone, they could now get members and advertise and make speaches legally
- Imprisionment may not exceed 6 month under state of security
- Prioners can see doctors and attorneys
When electing members of parliament the country is divided into?
Constituencies / districts
To elect someone to parliament, what must the voters have to vote?
Voters must
- Be 18 years or older
- Must be registered and ID document
- Must be a citizen of SA
What is a political party?
Group of citizens who have a certain idea of how the government should run the country
What does every political party have?
A leader
In the National Election you get a _______ or ______ with
all the _________________ on?
List or Ballot
political parties
True of False, give right answer:
General elections are held every 4 years?
FALSE
5 years
How is the President elected as head of the national government?
The party that won the National Election will choose their President of the party and he/she is President of country.
TRUE OR FALSE, GIVE RIGHT ANSWER:
IEC stands for International Electrical Commission
FALSE
Independent Electoral Commission
What does the IEC do?
- They arrange and control the voting
- They make sure that all elections are free and fair
- That no one was forced to vote for someone
In order to vote citizens had to register before or afte the election?
Before
Where did voting / polling stations been set up for voters to vote?
School halls or police stations
When a voters arrives at the polling station what happens?
- Voter must show ID
- Official checks name on registered voters list - cross out voters name
- Marks voters thumb with special ink
- Voter gets a ballot paper
- Voter votes making an X on ballot at party he likes
- Voter folds paper, put in ballot box
Why is a special pen with permanent ink used on voters thumb?
To make sure they do not vote twice
What is on a Ballot paper?
Political Party’s name and a photo of leader
REMEMBER, each vote is _______ ?
SECRET
Name the 3 Government Structures
- National Government
- Provincial Government
- Local / Municipal Government
Discuss the National Government:
- Led / ruled by President
- Make laws for South Africa
- Some department only at National Level, it concerns whole country eg.
* Defence, * Science and Technology
* Foreign Affairs * Trade and Industry
* Home Affairs * Minerals and Energy
* Water and Forestry
Discuss Provincial Government?
Led / Ruled by Premier
A body who helps organise affairs like:
Education # Sport and Recreation
Tourism # Finance
Housing # Health and Safety
Transport
Discuss Local / Municipalities?
Ruled / Led by a Mayor
Provides services like:
- Water * Parks and Libraries
- Roads * Clinics
- Electricity
- Refuse removal
They also work with Provincial and National Gov on
Housing, Education, Health Care and Safety in their specific town or city.
Who counts the votes after an election?
IEC
What do we call the party with the most votes?
Ruling Party
Party with the second most representatives are called?
The official opposition
The leader of the ruling party is the ________ of the country and the ___________ of the government
and the _________ of the cabinet.
PRESIDENT of the country
HEAD of government
CHAIRMAN of the cabinet
The people who lead the different departments in the government is called __________. They are elected from the ________________ party by the ______________.
called MINISTERS,
they are from the RULING PARTY
elected by the PRESIDENT
The cabinet consist of ____ ministers and _____ deputy ministers appointed by the President?
35 ministers
37 deputy ministers
What do a minister do in the government?
Ministers have a specific job / portfolio and is head of a specific department in the government, so he will be responsible for all the work in taht department, like
education
Health
Defence
Two banned parties that was unbanned by FW de Klerk were the ________ and ________
ANC and PAC
When was the first democratic elections held in SA?
27 April 1994
When was Nelson Mandela inaugurated ?
10 May 1994
