As soon as the military gave up power in 1999 and in our haste to return to democracy, we returned to the same mistakes that have bedeviled us since independence –“western democracy”. 1999 was an ample opportunity for Nigeria to build on our traditional democracy, but we failed to look into it, we failed to appreciate a system that was innate in us and still working in traditional settings with relative ease.
Western democracy besieges on an elected public office holder the full use of power and state apparatuses to promulgate his selfish interests and those of his constituency; thus excluding others who are in vast majority. These and many others are the deficiencies of this system of government.
Why One Party:
(1) It helps in the formation
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(3) The country achieves momentous economic progress as the Government ends the bickering among all the classes and allocated its political energy, towards the increase of production in the country.
(4) The administration becomes efficient because all the powers are concentrated in the hands of one internally elected leader; the place of nepotism is eliminated as he has no actual constituency to report to.
(5) There is more room for unity and discipline in the country because of non existing political competition.
Further to why One Party system, I will be unloading the impairment of multi or plural party system in Nigeria and the losses it has caused the country,
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The whole idea behind this is to interrupt electoral process and unfairly sway decisions to favour the perpetrator. In our own practice of western democracy, it’s a winner takes all dogfight. Political parties even encourage their candidates to play dirty if that is what it takes to win votes.
Election violence in Nigeria doesn’t only occur before or during elections, they are carried over long after elections. We have had cases of politicians being attacked or killed long after elections. Losers feel aggrieved and more often than not take into violence to settle political differences. Sometimes, it’s even the winners that take to violence to fence off rambunctious opponents.
Cases where incumbent office holders and opposing candidates go to court after elections are a common place in our politics, thus, wasting valuable funds and time. We have witnessed incidents were no proper elections were even held, but a winner emerged and expects to take office over some phony election results. Why these scenarios are prevalent in Nigeria is because of high level of corruption in our electoral process and lack of action on the part of the
In the twenty-first century, the United States is predominately a two-party political system. In George Washington’s Farwell Address (1796) he said, “The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism” (para. 22). In this speech, Washington cautioned his fellow Americans about the risks of political parties; he claimed the partisanship would lead to inter-political discord, divide the nation, and give rise to instances of tyranny. Although a two-party system has the potential to not be detrimental to the country, with people following the examples of Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson Americans have a tendency to put their personal political associations ahead of what may be best for the country.
Contemporary politicians are more likely than their predecessors to use legal checks against their opponents. During the Obama Administration, Senate Republicans refused to consider President Obama’s final Supreme Court nominee and used the filibuster to kill Democratic legislation in unprecedented fashion according to How Democracies Die. Further, the far-right has increasingly held non-violent armed demonstrations. According to the Journal of Democracy, these demonstrations often intimidate political opponents away from voting. Although these demonstrations are legal, they illustrate how citizens are increasingly willing to use legal means to circumscribe their
As the foundations of a successful government system, political parties help keep balance of power and uphold the Democratic ideals of the United States. These parties have origins that can trace back to the early sectional tensions in America. These sectional tensions were the primary reasons for the development and progression of political parties in the United States. As early as 1800, signs of deviation would appear.
The electoral college also maintains a strong two-party system, in which there are two parties that provide a generalized platform for voters rather than a single-issued third party. Moreover, with the the two-party system of Democrats and Republicans, the government provides a stability in America in which American citizens can relate to a variety of interests. However, even with all these benefits that are provided for Americans, there are flaws that are elicited within the electoral
Introduction On October 1st 1960 , British rule over Nigeria as a colony ended, as well as most of its official structure. Nigerian leaders were left with the task of taking up the leadership of the Nigerian people from the British with a promise of democratic rule; however within fifteen years after independence various institutions experienced great changes bringing great instability and uncertainty to the newly founded government. Northern and Southern regions of Nigeria both felt the impacts in education, politics, religion and ethnically. This causes one to wonder what the British Imperialistic government did differently, and why the difference between the Southern and Northern region became so evident in the fifteen years after independence.
Unfortunately, the country still till this day have political parties. Many say the era where divided government began before
Although many have debated on their reasoning, the Electoral College system may be a noteworthy cause. As a democratic nation by the people and for the people, citizens feel betrayed when they believe that their vote isn’t worth anything. Therefore, the system they thought they knew and loved fails them. It is essential for citizen’s voices to be heard in a sea of dispute and many see their vote as a method for this to take place. However, when an unpopular candidate is elected President by a small margin it is understandable to believe
The main advantage is that it removes the concentration of power from one individual. This ensures that abuse of power is limited. Giving different individuals from varying parties will also result in the creation of checks and balances in the executive. A lieutenant governor from the Democratic Party will be able to check the activities and the undertakings of a Republican governor thus ensuring that they operate within the confines of the law and the powers of their office. Also, the system allows for the introduction or the enforcement of the manifestos held by both parties, thereby resulting in greater benefits to the population.
One of the things that makes America so great is its election process. The US elections are fair and not rigged by the people in power(as far as the public knows.) Despite this, there are still some people who try and get the elections to go one way. This is called voter fraud. Voter fraud can take many different forms, switching ballots, tampering with results, pressuring voters, and voting in the place of others.
In advising the Chief Justice, it is obvious that the voting districts should be redrawn for a multitude of reasons. As the system of drawing districts stands, it is highly vulnerable to corruption for the party in power, as they are the ones deciding the districts. Concurrently, those in power are incentivized to maintain their power through any means necessary; which, in a democracy, is obtaining the most votes. Because it is extremely difficult determining whether or not the drawing of a district is preferential to one party over another is, the risk to those in power is minimal while the potential payout is high. Thus, short of any moral reasoning to stop them, the likelihood of someone gaming the design of voting districts is high.
Research Paper On Democracy in Canada Name : Harpreet Kaur Introduction The word democracy describes a Political System of any country. Dramatic changes have taken place in recent Years at the national level with respect to the day today functioning of our constitutional democracy. In a Democratic country like Canada , America all the citizens that are eligible have the rights to participate directly or indirectly in decision making that affect them.
INTRODUCTION The United States political structure is one of the most conducive and great political system in the world. One of the most popular aspects of it is the two party system, and the well-known Democratic and Republican parties. There are three major party systems in the world and they are one-party system, two-party system and multi-party system. This essay will analyse the two party system in the United States (U.S.), their structure and the benefits of a two party system in a states.
The political party model then spread over many parts of Western Europe, including France and Germany, over the 19th century. Since then, they have become the most common political system in the world. In this essay, we will show how political parties are essential to ensuring democracy. We will also show that there are unavoidable negative consequences to the party system. One of the fundamental tenants of democracy is the
Many people believe that the election plays the most important role in democracy. Because a free and fair election holds the government responsible and forces it to behave on voter's interest. However, some scholars find evidence that election itself is not enough to hold politicians responsible if the institutions are not shaping incentives in a correct way. In other words, the role of the election on democracy, whether it helps to serve the interest of the public or specific groups, depends on other political institutions. I