Brief Summary of the UK System
Britain is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch as Head of State.
Parliament, Britain's legislature, comprises the Queen in her constitutional role, the House of Lords and the elected House of Commons.
The centre of Parliamentary power is the House of Commons with 646 elected Members of Parliament (MPs) each representing a local constituency.
General elections to choose MPs must be held at least every five years.
Voting is not compulsory, is by secret ballot and is from age 18. The simple majority system of voting is used.
The last general election was in May 2005 when 61 per cent of a total electorate of 44.5 million voted.
Local elections are due in March 2007. Constitutional reform remains a theme.
Following separate referenda, the Government has devolved power from Parliament at Westminster to a Scottish Parliament and a Welsh National Assembly.
My starting point is to underline three things when talking about democratisation, which is part of a wider issue of good governance. Firstly, no country possesses the same or the perfect system of democracy. We are all learning; we must all be modest in our opinions, wherever we come from.
Second, we are talking about a system of government which itself cannot be described as perfect. As Winston Churchill said: "Many forms of Government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”
But thirdly democracy is the system of government which all states that are serious about the role of citizens and the quality of government in serving those citizens are choosing as the best system available. There are 16 elections coming up in Africa alone in the coming year. And as the Commission for Africa Report says, democracy is an absolute fundamental to ensure that a government is accountable to its people for its policies and actions. Ethiopia went through a difficult election period in 2005, which had highs and lows. We are in a post electoral phase, what you might call a lessons-learned period. Elections are important, because they provide a health check on the state of a democracy and how a citizen feels about its government and its policies and about political parties. But periods between elections are also important because the value of democracy is embodied in the universal principles it embodies and how these principles are implemented and what they mean for the life of the average citizen.
It is in this spirit that I have chosen to talk not so much about different systems of government or systems of democracy themselves but about what I think are universal democratic values and how they are applied in daily life, in other words about democratic culture and making democracy matter, making it matter to the average citizen. Rather than trying to measure democratic systems one against another it is more useful to state some of the democratic principles, including accountability and transparency, which are universal and to be respected in any democracy and then look at what this means for daily life, look at their application on a continuing basis.
I laid out some aspects of the UK tradition in another speech shortly before the 2005 elections, which I believe embody some universal democratic principles: - A fair democratic system accepted by all and a level playing field for all political parties;
- Mutual respect within the law and constitution;
- All political parties accepting responsibilities, fair play and justice;
- Non-violence, but instead peaceful policy-based debate and dialogue (not just polarisation and one side blaming the other and vice versa all the time);
- A free media and access to that media;
Leading to the key point that the voter is able to make a free and secret choice as to which candidate or party to vote for.
- In the UK, also, the civil service, all public servants (including the security services and armed forces, should remain totally impartial and neutral and not linked to any party; we work for the State and carry out the policies of whatever government that is elected.
Such principles should contribute to a culture of democracy over time.
A key aim of democracy is to extend political participation of all citizens. For this, trust between citizens and the state is important, given that it underpins the credibility of the country. Creating the confidence of the citizen that democracy does matter and that they should opt in not opt out- is important in ensuring such participation. The state has to show that no voter should fear anything by expressing his or her free choice. One important contribution to this, as mentioned above, is when public servants are known to be impartial and non-partisan, providing services without fear or favour to all citizens and carrying out the policies of whatever government may be elected. Another important signal is given when the state machinery managing the elections- i.e. the NEB in Ethiopia's case- is seen to be impartial. Also both sides, Government and Opposition, all need to ensure there is no harassment. Access by unbiased observers, ensuring that the elections administration is open to scrutiny right down to the lowest level, is also important for credibility. Then the Courts must be prepared to deal with electoral complaints fairly and rapidly. And finally it goes without saying that human rights must be respected. Any allegations of abuses need to be investigated and action taken publicly to remedy any breach of human rights.
All this is part of showing that there is indeed fair play and a level playing field.
Another aspect of a level playing field is money. The issue of money is important because effective political parties are needed for an effective democracy. The state can do something by helping fund legal parties- and in most cases should take such action. This can help make things fairer. Private sources will probably also be needed but this needs to be under clear guidelines. Provision of private money should not give privileged access to politicians or influence policies ie be able to buy or corrupt political power. Not only should politicians act ethically but the relationship between money and politics should be open to public scrutiny. Codes of conduct are important here, so are the regulatory authorities which make sure that codes of conduct are adhered to. They should have teeth.
In the UK we have a system whereby Parliament and the other stakeholders in our society including crucially the media and civil society- have an important role of holding the executive to account. In all systems there should be a culture of being accountable, taking responsibility for what you manage. While expansion of government makes it difficult for a Head of Government or his/her Ministers to keep track of everything they are running, they should be expected to take responsibility when things go wrong as much as when things go right. Only by being open and honest and accepting mistakes can society learn from those mistakes. No part of any executive, including the security services, can act with impunity, can act without being accountable, can act above the law. Everyone is accountable. No-one is above the law.
Freedom of expression and of right to information are also generally acknowledged as key ingredients of democratic culture. It permits citizens to realise other rights. Information is a vital commodity, the life blood of democracy and not having information and knowledge can tilt the playing field. Ordinary voters need to have choice of information so that their choice of candidate and party is based on balanced information. Tony Blair once said 'freedom of information is not just important in itself. It is part of bringing politics up to date, of letting politics catch up with the aspirations of the people and delivering not just more open but more effective and efficient government in future.' Without knowledge one cannot act.
The famous Indian economist, Amartya Sen, has noticed that there has never been a substantial famine in a country with a democratic form of government and a relatively free press. In many societies it is the wealthy and powerful who are better placed to interrogate the media and gain access to better information. For democracies to function citizens require access to a range of sources of information as a means to make informed political choices. Journalists just as much as politicians should be subject to rigorous codes of conduct. And if civil society are active, then access to information will be a valuable tool in the fights for social and economic justice.
Government and Opposition, indeed all politicians, all share equally the responsibility to make a democracy work and make it credible. They must accept that the democratic systems and principles need to be taken seriously. Both Opposition and Government must behave responsibly otherwise citizens lose faith in democracy. No genuine democracy works without a wide spread belief in the values of democracy and the democratic system. One problem exposed in the last election was the polarisation of political views. It seemed that every view expressed either made the speaker someone seen as for or against something. The idea of constructive criticism, where differing policy positions can be presented but still there is mutual respect and one can go and enjoy a cup of buna with one's political opponent afterwards, seemed to be lacking. Constructive criticism within an open debate still seemed to be regarded by the other side, whether that be the Government or the Opposition, as making the critic into something of an enemy. Mutual respect seemed to be lacking sometimes. There did not seem to be shades of grey, only black and white. Constructive criticism and presentation of alternative policies is surely what enables Citizens through their elected institutions to hold their Government accountable. And politicians and politics should act for the public interest rather than for purely party interests. They should abide by fair play and the rules of the game. Policy dialogue and a culture of informed debate, presenting alternative policy views, is needed between all parties.
There also seemed to be a question about what multi democracy means, what it is all about.
Firstly there needs to be a substantial choice of policies, rather than individuals or identity. In many democracies, for example, the main choice is between using government to improve equality or allowing free markets to improve equality. A politically educated and informed electorate is needed.
Secondly, inevitably in any election there will be winners and losers. Will, the winners, the ruling party of the day, acknowledge the importance of the role of the Opposition, listen carefully to their views and allow them to show to their constituents that there is a reason why being in Parliament is important even if those Opposition MPs are not in power? Will the Opposition operate within the Constitution, accept the results, play their full and constructive role within the institutions of the country and campaign equally constructively for another day, meanwhile presenting alternative policy choices, especially in Parliament? Do all politicians, Opposition and Government support the bigger democratic project namely the national democratic system, designed to be to the benefit of all ordinary citizens? Or do ruling party members regard Opposition merely as a nuisance and do opposition MPs merely criticise everything the ruling party propose for the sake of criticism?
The new Parliament with its new Parliamentary procedures, gives a new chance for such attitudes to change, for democratic culture to grow. But it is not just Parliament where space needs to .grow and where institutions need to function well in the interests of the bigger democratic project. The public and private sectors, the media, the civil society and other stakeholders throughout the country have an important role to play.
The new generation coming through can perhaps provide a new democratic impetus. But they need to be motivated to have trust in the democratic system, to think that it is relevant to them. I think Ethiopian people, however poor, are like people- including poor people everywhere. They are smart. They do want genuine democracy as an essential component in improving their quality of life, it is not just a question of how much the economy is developing, what services they get, although those matters are very important indeed. They also want and deserve democracy in action at local level. The right to have a say in decisions directly affecting their lives and to hold the executive accountable at that level.
They also do want democratic values, democratic culture- and universal respect of human rights. All parties should respect the right of the ordinary voter to choose freely and fairly without pressure. Again as the CFA Report states, this needs to take place within a climate of genuine commitment to the principle of accountability towards a country's citizens, including the poor, not just towards interests of elites.
Ethiopia has set commendably high principles under its constitution and its acceptance of NEPAD and African Peer Review. The challenge for Ethiopia, for all stakeholders in this young and important multi-party democracy, is to apply these principles in practice. |