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AMOATENG DAVID

INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE POLITICS

 THE EXTENT TO WHICH POLITICAL PARTIES DEEPEN DEMOCRACY. 

In the global system, there are several politically organized groups of people with a clearly defined programmes and objectives who vie, strive and seek to capture political power through representation in government so as to implement their policies.

These organizations are however termed as ‘Political Parties’. But in spite of that, each of these organized groups of people are therefore engineered to carry out selfless-executing system and stand on a complex political power of the citizenry in a certain constructive characteristic mode of acting engaged in keeping the democratic process. Democracy is a social foundation for political and economic development in any society in both developed and developing economies (Almoguela, 2012)

Democracy by its nature cannot exist without elections to express the will of the people being governed. Successful elections are largely a function of political parties strong enough to inform and mobilize the electorate. Thus, modern democracy is not possible outside of the political parties that carry it out.

In as much as political parties are concerned, it is necessary to critically examine the extent to which they deepen democracy.

Firstly, Political parties play a vital role in the marketplace of political ideologies, socio-political conflict management, the economics of national development and programs for addressing the needs of the citizens. They are major vehicles for the recruitment of political leadership, the structuring of electoral choice, and the framing of policy alternatives as well as setting up pro-people alternative governments. Parties are the principal players in electoral contests. To that extent, they are indispensable to democracy.

Furthermore, Political parties gain legitimate power through elections. Elections are carried out through political parties which play a crucial role in the quest for democratic governance. And as a source of political philosophies, they also found and consolidate democratic systems. Elections remain an important instrument through which diverse segments of society including the most vulnerable, elect rulers of their choice to govern and guide their development quest. Once elected, these individuals assume the authority to determine and shape national socio-economic policies and programs that should result in better standards of living for the electorate while also responding to the demands of economic globalization.

Moreover, Political parties are chief vehicles that can help mediate between civil society and those who implement decisions in government and political administration. They mobilize electorates to participate in an election, recruit political personnel, aggregate a plurality of interests into a reasonable number of policy options and transform those policy options into political decisions.

Politics require time-proof ideologies, philosophies, principles, ideas and values that set the goals and standards of political organization of a political party and for which its members aspire to subscribe to and champion. For instance, Kenya Africa National Union, our independence party that ruled Kenya for a record 24 years had as its philosophy, “Peace, Love and Unity” (Boi, 2016).

Finally, Political parties can deepen democracy by coordinating the actions of government officials. The parties, once elected, try to implement the programs that they advocate. They work to propose legislation and then get it passed in the name of the majority that elected them.

Conclusively, Political parties in the quest to capture political power through election are a distraction, but it is a reality in democratic governance. But however, they profoundly empowers a good grasp of matters of public affairs which enables individual citizens to participate more confidently and make informed choices in the complex settings where decisions for the collective good are made and validated. When and where there is a judicious and sustained public engagement in policy discourse, political parties fosters inclusions through policy makings which necessarily expands beyond the confines of the politicians and issues more than personalities, which clearly defines the outcomes of elections and hence expatiate and deepen democracy.

Reference

Almojuela, M. (2012, November 28). Deepening Democracy Means Looking Beyond Elections. Retrieved April 28, 2019, from http://www.blog.politics.ox.ac.uk/deepening-democracy-means-looking-beyond-elections/

Boi, D. (2016, November 29). Political Parties Can Help Deepen Democracy, Deliver Credible Elections. Retrieved April 28, 2019, from Citizen Digital: http://www.citizentv.co.ke/news/political-parties-can-help-deepen-democracy-deliver-credible-elections-150474/?amp