HIV/AIDS is placing a serious economic and political burden on electoral systems in southern Africa, a new study by the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA) has found.
Titled 'The Impact of HIV/AIDS on Electoral Systems and Processes in Africa', the study noted that as the pandemic increasingly claimed the lives of younger members of parliaments, the number of by-elections in these countries also began to increase, at an estimated cost of US$500,000 per electoral process.
Zambia was estimated to have held 16 by-elections since 2001, Lesotho has had six in the last four years, and South Africa led with a staggering 235 local government elections between 2001 and 2003.
IDASA rsearcher Kondwani Chirambo told the South African Broadcasting Corporation he was confident the money could be spent on more necessary items, like health infrastructure, and that there was a need to investigate what would be the most appropriate electoral system for African countries struggling against AIDS.
Titled 'The Impact of HIV/AIDS on Electoral Systems and Processes in Africa', the study noted that as the pandemic increasingly claimed the lives of younger members of parliaments, the number of by-elections in these countries also began to increase, at an estimated cost of US$500,000 per electoral process.
Zambia was estimated to have held 16 by-elections since 2001, Lesotho has had six in the last four years, and South Africa led with a staggering 235 local government elections between 2001 and 2003.
IDASA rsearcher Kondwani Chirambo told the South African Broadcasting Corporation he was confident the money could be spent on more necessary items, like health infrastructure, and that there was a need to investigate what would be the most appropriate electoral system for African countries struggling against AIDS.
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