The executive arm of government is becoming more and more powerful than the legislature, a research conducted by the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) has concluded.

The research, which covered the work of Parliament from 1993 to 2006, showed that the Executive is exploiting its power advantage to the detriment of the oversight functions of the Legislature over executive decisions and actions.

It further said the more executive power was used in the legislature, the more the legislative power in the exercise of its oversight functions over executive decisions and actions declined and Parliament divided along party lines.

Carried out by Professor Kwame Ninsin, a Senior Research Fellow of IDEG and a team of other researchers, the study has been compiled into an 87-page book entitled "Executive-Parliament interface in the legislative process (1993-2006)-A synergy of powers?" which was launched in Accra on Wednesday.

The research was conducted against the backdrop of animated debate on the nature and impact of the relationship between the legislature and the executive on democratic governance in general, and the performance of Parliament in particular.

"The analyses show conclusively that from 2001 to 2006 there has been a higher propensity on the part of the executive to abuse the majoritarian principle in the name of democratic governance," Prof. Ninsin said.

He said the constitution had, in part, made it possible for the executive to accumulate such overwhelming power over the legislature and called for a review of the electoral laws to ensure proportional representation of political parties in Parliament.

Under proportional representation, representatives are elected from multi-seat districts in proportion to the number of votes received. The system ensures that political parties or candidates will have the percentage of legislative seats that reflects their public support.

He said the "winner-takes-all" principle in the present electoral system has contributed to the current imbalance in the distribution of power between the executive and the legislature by making it possible for one of two political parties to control both the executive and the legislature.

Prof. Ninsin said a system of proportional representation should facilitate the growth and representation in Parliament of several political parties.

"Parliamentary elections will then produce a legislative body constituted by several power centres representing a broader spectrum of interests that transcends the narrow bi-polar power structure defined by the constitution in its present state," he said.

He suggested that the parliamentary cycle should be decoupled from the presidential. cycle so that the tenures of office-holders of the two institutions would not coincide.

That, would ensure that the President was unable to either infiltrate Parliament using his power of patronage, or tie the electoral fortunes of members of his political party to his own.

Prof. Ninsin said it was up to Ghanaians to debate whether it was too early or not to have a constitutional review since the executive exercises its powers on the basis of constitutional provisions.

Professor Mike Oquaye, Member of Parliament for the Dome Kwabenya constituency who reviewed the book stressed the need to do away with the "politics of dichotomy" where every issue was politicised in Parliament without its merits being carefully considered.

Instead, he called for the adoption of the policy of compromise, consensus and non-confrontation from both sides of the political divide in considering and debating issues in the legislature.


Source: Times