Democracy, accountability and parliaments By Riccardo Pelizzo

democracy The literature on democracy has addressed 3 questions: What is it? What conditions facilitate a transition to democracy? What conditions ensure that democracy survives?

democracy The duration and durability of democracyhas been related to: Political culture Institutions (form of government) Patterns of inter-party competition (party system attributes) Ethnic diversity Socio-economic development Legitimacy

democracy Recent studies (Morlino) have related the legitimacy of a democratic regime to the qualities of democracy These qualities concern the procedures, the content/output and the result/outcome of democracy

democracy

In his analytical framework Morlino suggested that these could constitute a funnel of causality such that Responsiveness/legitimacy is function of freedom and equality And freedom and equality are a function of procedural characteristics of the democratic regime

democracy Rule of lawAccountabilitiesResponsivenessFreedomEqualityOutcome + Effective ++ Responsible +++ Legitimate ++ + Free ++ +Egalitarian +++++Perfect

accountability Accountability has two dimensions Answerability (calling to account) – Information – Explanation/justification Enrorcement (holding to account) – sanctions Answerability without enforcement undermines accountability

accountability Accountability is believed to one of the essential features of any democratic regime Political scientists have generally identified 2 types of accountability: Electoral or vertical accountability Inter-institutional or horizontal accountability

accountability Electoral accountability is the most important one but is intermittent It cannot be exercised between elections Inter-institutional accountability can be exercised on an ongoing basis Can help voters decide whether to reward or to punish the incumbent

accountability

Recent years have witnessed the emergence of new types/forms of accountability – Social accountability – Diagonal accountability

accountability Social accountability is also known as Society driven horizontal accountability Because the mechanism of horizontal accountability are triggered by a popular demand Hence social accountability is demand-driven and bottom-up

accountability Diagonal accountability is intended to increase civil society’s ability to perform its watch dog function Participation in existing mechanisms or processes of accountability Information flow Compel officials to answer Power to sanction

accountability

These various forms of accontability can employ a wide set of tools or mechanisms These tools or mechanisms vary in terms of their enforcement capacity

accountability Horizontal Accountability Vertical Accountability Diagonal Accountability Social Accountability High enforcement/s anctions capacity Supreme audit institutions Legislative committees Interpellations Courts Enforcement agencies Elections Referenda Parliamentary hearings Admin. Review Councils Public interest law Freedom of Information laws Low enforcement/s anctions capacity Questions/ question period Ombuds offices Investigative journalism Citizens’ charters Citizen Oversight committees Civil society Watchdog institutions

parliaments As we have seen parliaments can playa key role in keeping governments accountable They are one of the institutions to which governments have to account to They can help society and civil society groups to keep governments accountable They can provide society with the information it needs to make an informed decision at the ballot box

parliaments Therefore parliaments are key mechanisms of inter-institutional accountability and are instrumental in facilitating vertical, social and diagonal accountability Parliaments contribute to the establishment and the functioning of systems of accountability by performing their oversight function

parliaments While there are some differences between parliaments or legislatures across forms of government, all parliaments perform A representative A legislative An oversight function

parliaments Parliaments can employ various tools to oversee government activities and expenditures Questions Interpellations Committee Hearings Inquiry committees Specialized oversight committees Motions Missions Reports

parliaments Questions can be oral or written They are generally submitted in writing Written questions are answered in wiritng and are not debated Oral questions are answered and debated during Question Time Questions can be asked by individual MPs They are the most common oversight tools They are not the most effective oversight tool

parliaments Interpellations are less common but more powerful oversight tool than question 3 differences between questions and interpellations 1) interpellations cannot be asked by individual MPs 2) the question seeks information, the interpellation seeks an explanation/justificatino 3) may lead to government crisis in parliamentary systems and to a motion of censure in presidential systems

parliaments motions for debate can be used to scrutinize the implementation of government policies and activities

parliaments motions of censure are directed against individual government members, against the government as a whole or against the head of government. If successful they can have a whole range of consequences. In some presidential countries (Burundi) they are simply put on record while in others, such as (Liberia) they can lead to the dismissal of the head of government.

parliaments Committees are crucial for oversight: Committee hearings are, along qwith questions, the most common and one of the most effective oversight tools Some (standing) committees such as PACs have only an oversight mandate Inquiry committees are set up for a limited amount of time to conduct an inquiry

parliaments Missions are less common oversight tools In several countries (e.g., Benin, Burundi, Congo, Djibouti and Indonesia), fact-finding missions are carried out to gather the necessary information on the efficiency and the effectiveness of government policy implementation

parliaments In several countries (e.g., Cyprus, Djibouti and South Korea), specific provisions compel the executive branch of the government to submit regular reports to the legislature about the implementation of its policies and programs. It is not uncommon for such reports to be the subject of a debate in the plenary

A brief note on oversight effectiveness Oversight effectiveness promoted by Range of mandate Resources available (human, financial, technical) Political will –which can be created by popular demand—population can be persuded to pursue such an objective because accountability pays off

Dividends of accutability Where oversight is performed more effectively and/or where there is more accountability There is more political stability (less political violence) There is a greater control of corruption (less corruption) The quality of democracy is higher And the percentage of citizens that are satisfied with democracy is higher

Dividends of accountability

Dividens of accountability

Dividends of accountability

The dividends of accountability