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Friday 11 January 2013

The Objective Of Political Accountability

By Dorothea Garner


Political accountability is a term that refers to the regulations that various constituencies and organizations expect the public officials they support to abide by on a continuous basis. Such organizations usually have the authority to apply sanctions to politicians who fail to adhere to these guidelines. As more accountability is demanded, the price public officials must pay when they base their decisions on personal interests instead of the greater good will increase as well.

To ensure accountability can be enforced, the sanctions implemented by each public figure's constituency or other watchdog group must be effective.Competition among political candidates is also helpful in regulating the behavior of government officials. This is because all politicians have an excellent motive to expose the inappropriate activities of their opponents, which often results in all individuals in this category choosing to hold themselves accountable so that they can avoid having someone else take over this task.

Accountability and anticorruption measures were taken by individuals and groups throughout history. These measures came in many forms, such as anti-bribery bills, which were utilized as far back as the 1500s. Frequently, such bills were the byproduct of power struggles among numerous political groups and parties. After the desired results were achieved following the use of such bills, they became a favorite method of regulating politicians throughout the world.

Such officials can also be held accountable through the expressed demands of their constituencies. Refusing to support the politician or cast one's vote for the candidate are also measures that individuals take when attempting to force a public official to act appropriately.

Almost everyone would agree that all political parties should be held to specific standards, but statistics throughout the world show that implementing effective systems to accomplish this is often difficult. A frequently heard complaint of numerous individuals concerns the way public officials spend their campaign funds. For example, many voters withdraw their support from candidates who are caught channeling such money into private interests or offering bribes for political backing.

Transparency also plays a vital role in the monitoring of public officials. There are various measures through which this can be accomplished. These include registering lobbying activities, opening government sessions and the transcripts from such meetings to the public, and making court records available to the same, including the decisions of various politicians who once worked as judges.

Other methods have been deemed effective in discouraging corrupt behavior. Examples of these include an established code of ethics, regulations on lobbying, and disciplinary committees. Additionally, asset declaration laws and party financing laws are among the most frequently used regulatory techniques.

To be optimally effective, however, any kind of political accountability regulation requires an implementation body. It is likely that additional organizations of this kind will be formed in the future for the purpose of weeding out dishonest officials and politicians. Unfortunately, there will always be disreputable individuals seeking places in government, but the measures outlined above will enhance the public's ability to differentiate genuine candidates from those who are shady or corrupt.




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