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Friday 24 May 2013

Important Facts Surrounding Political Accountability

By Esther Salazar


Political accountability refers to the liability of politicians, civil servants and the government both to the legislative, which can be parliament or congress, and the public bodies. In terms of leadership, political accountability revolves around the assumption and acknowledgment of responsibility for policies, decisions, products and actions. This includes the implementation, governance and administration within the extent of employment position or role.

In some cases, recall elections will be held in order to revoke offices of elected officials. This rarely happens however since generally, voters will not be having any direct means to hold elected representatives responsible for the terms which they were elected for. In addition, some legislators and officials are appointed and not elected.

What gives the legislative body power to make accountable the government as a whole, including its members and the other government bodies are the statutes or constitutions. These are often exercised when holding internal inquiries. An inquiry is often held as an answer to an allegation of government misconduct and corruption.

The sanctions, powers and procedures following inquiries usually differ from one country to another. The legislature will be given the right and the power to conduct an impeachment over anyone responsible, resulting to getting them suspended temporarily or permanently removed from offices. Any accused individual can choose to resign before going on trial though. In the US, faculty elected representatives and other civil officers like court judges can be held for impeachment.

In majority of parliamentary systems, governments typically rely on parliaments and other subsequent supports. These help provide the parliament power for holding governments into account. Some parliaments actually have the capacity and ability to pass votes stating they have no confidence in their government.

There have been studies conducted that found how complex it was in practice to have empowering citizens hold domestic governments to account. However, the development of clear processes that generated change within communities, groups and individuals, made understanding the complex dynamics of states and citizens much better. Fusing of tools for outcome mapping and political economy contributed to this advancement as well.

How good governments function will always reflect how the citizens hold politicians responsible for all their actions. There are two factors on which the political control held by public officials depend. One is the regular and free elections which allow citizens to discipline their own politicians. The credible risk of being booted out of the office for the following period will compel policy makers to properly respond to the interest of the voters.

The second factor is the knowledge extent of the citizens. This is just as important as the first factor. Public knowledge can curb the chances of politicians to engage in improper management and political corruption. The more informed people are of the different laws and their rights, the lesser the likelihood of politicians to carry on with their malicious deeds.

The last basis of political accountability is the presence of wise electorates. A country that has been operating under a democratic setting will find this most beneficial. Well-informed electorates have better chances at seeing through government performance and carrying out assessments whether malicious activities have been engaged in or not.




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