Reflections with Civil Society: Power, Coalition Governance and Electoral Reform

Image: Flickr, governmentza
Image: Flickr, governmentza

Join SAIIA on 1 July for a webinar unpacking key insights from our recent conference on democracy, coalition governance, civil society and electoral reform.

The South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) is hosting a webinar on 29 June, examining the state of South Africa’s democracy in a time of profound structural change driven by declining public trust, fragmented representation and coalition government.

On 11 and 12 May, SAIIA convened a conference, supported by the Social Justice Initiative (SJI), that brought together civil society, academia and researchers to discuss critical questions on electoral reform, coalition governance and civil society power in South Africa.

Building on those discussions, this webinar will examine the key insights and findings that emerged from the conference ahead of South Africa’s local government elections on 4 November.

Speakers will discuss the kind of democratic environment they find themselves operating in; how we should think about civil society power and what realistically lies within its power to shape; whether anything has changed in how we think about accountability in the context of coalition government; and what is understood as the limits of electoral reform.

Moderator

Isabel Bosman-Burnett, Researcher: African Governance and Diplomacy Programme, SAIIA

Panellists

  • Lawson Naidoo, Director, Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (CASAC)
  • Lindokuhle Vellem, Programme Manager, Afesis
  • Rendani Tshitangano, Research Assistant: Youth Programme, SAIIA

We look forward to your participation.

This content features on the G20 Resource Centre.

1 Jul 2026