- Title
- Grappling with the democratic transition: parliamentary accountability and the House of Representatives of Zanzibar, Tanzania
- Creator
- Nassor, Aley Soud
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2013
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- The introduction of a multiparty political system in Tanzania in the early 1990s signalled a major step towards establishing a democratic polity. This democratic transition aimed to create an environment for political participation at all levels of politics, to enhance political accountability of elected leaders, to foster responsible leadership, to aid in consensus building, and to enhance civil liberties. A consequence of realising these aims in practice would mean a significant shift in the relationships between the executive and legislative branches of government. That is, the process of democratisation would result in scaling back the significant powers vested in the Executive during a one-party system and relocating them appropriately among the other organs of the government, specifically the legislature. One key indicator of this shift is the extent to which the legislature has been empowered to hold the executive accountable. Even in well-established democracies, the task of ensuring that the executive is accountable to the legislature is not that simple and consensus has not been reached on the extent to which the legislatures are able to fulfil this task effectively. Shortfalls such as constitutional and procedural weaknesses, lack of transparency, and informational inaccessibility together with the phenomenal proliferation of state activities in modern times have made enforcing legislative accountability very complex. The problem tends to be more severe in new democracies like Tanzania due to its historical experiences of poor economic conditions, social unrest, corrupt leadership, and deep political and social divides. Although recent studies have noted some gains in a number of countries in Africa, very little attention has been paid to the issue of parliamentary accountability of the executive in Tanzania. The situation in Tanzania is complicated by the fact that its political system also includes Zanzibar which has its own parliamentary system that in many respects exercises a significant degree of autonomy. The present study examines the impact of democratisation on Zanzibar’s political system and in particular on the relationship between the executive and the legislature. The primary aim was to identify the extent to which the powers of the House of Representatives of Zanzibar have been enhanced to hold the executive accountable. While the study examined the changing systemic arrangements, in particular constitutional changes, its main focus was gaining an understanding of the ways in which those directly involved in the legislature−the elected and appointed members and the senior officials of the parliament−interpreted the nature and effectiveness of these changes. In so doing, the study identified various factors influencing the ability of Zanzibar’s legislature, the House of Representatives, to hold the executive accountable. These factors include an ongoing constitutional imbalance of power between the two branches of government, technical and organisational constraints, and a highly charged political atmosphere within the House (mirroring a history of political conflict within Zanzibar society). The study found that the democratic reforms have improved the legislative accountability of the Executive in Zanzibar. However, although the House of Representatives has gradually been improving its powers and capacity, the Executive is still extremely powerful. Many areas in which the House has been empowered to oversee the working of the Executive are still very indistinct and not clearly stipulated within the Constitution. By contrast, the powers of the Executive over the House are clearly expressed in the Constitution. Nevertheless, the parliamentary system in Zanzibar has moved from its subordinated position within the now defunct one-party system where it was little more than a rubber stamp for executive pronouncements. After 20 or so years of democratisation the Zanzibar parliament has become a key organ of government. Thus this study’s findings contribute to the scholarship on democratic transitions, in particular to discussions on the nature of the legislature and its powers, and perhaps most importantly, to the ongoing practical development of the institutions of democratic governance in Zanzibar (and Tanzania).
- Subject
- democracy; multiparty politics; parliamentary accountability; Zanzibar; African politics
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/939729
- Identifier
- uon:12869
- Rights
- Copyright 2013 Aley Soud Nassor
- Language
- eng
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