Assemblies or

Parliament or
Legislature
Session 18 by Rida Ashfaq
Assemblies
The three main institutions of state: legislature, executive, judiciary
‘Parliaments’ or ‘legislatures – key position in government
Lay politicians who claim to represent the people, rather than trained or expert
government officials
National debating chambers, public forums in which government policies and the
major issues of the day can be openly discussed and analyzed.
Role depends on wider constitutional and institutional factors
Operate within a parliamentary, presidential or semi-presidential system
Internal structures: whether they comprise two legislative chambers or one
Debate on whether assemblies are losing significance to executives or are they being
revived?
Assemblies
Have many different names: congress, national assembly, house of representatives,
parliament etc.
Representation and popular government, an assembly, being viewed as a surrogate
for the people
Some states have unicameral system, others bicameral and often they are elected in
different ways as well.
Basic function is law making, but do not have a monopoly on law making, and it is
not their only function either
debating chambers - forums in which policies and political issues can be openly
discussed and scrutinized
Parliamentary system
System: Relationship between the assembly and the government and, therefore, the relationship
between legislative and executive authority
Many democracies follow Westminster style – parliamentary system:
Central feature of parliamentary systems is a fusion of legislative and executive power:
Government is parliamentary, in that it is drawn from and accountable to the assembly or
parliament
Responsible - maintained because the executive can govern only as long as it retains the
confidence of the assembly, accountable to assembly and indirectly to the people
Effective: it rests on the confidence of the assembly and so can, in most cases, ensure that its
legislative programme is passed
Some failures: often associated with the problem of executive domination if their strict party
discipline and simple plurality electoral system, often reduce p to talking shops
If party system is weak and proportional electoral system - Linked with weak government and
political instability
Task: google how Pakistan’s current parliamentary system is set up? How many members of
parliament do we have, how are they elected? Etc.
Presidential System
Presidential systems are based on the strict application of Montesquieu’s doctrine of
the separation of powers
Assemblies and executives are formally independent from one another and separately
elected
US is a big example (some in Latin America) – US founding fathers worried about
powerful executive, wanted to establish a system of checks and balances
No overlap of personnel is permitted but, nevertheless, possess the ability to
constrain one another’s power
Task: read from the reading how the American system is set up
‘Hybrid or semi-presidential system
For example in France:
A ‘dual executive’
a separately elected president works in conjunction with a prime minister and cabinet drawn
from, and responsible to, the National Assembly.
How such a system works in practice depends on a delicate balance between, on the one hand, the
personal authority and popularity of the president and, on the other, the political complexion of
the National Assembly
Another type in Finland:
the president is concerned largely with foreign affairs and leaves the burden of
domestic responsibilities in the hands of the cabinet.
Have increased in the last three decades, common in post communist regimes
Some are balanced: parliament can effectively constraint president
Some are asymmetrical, leads to an overdominance by president like Russia
Presidential systems (full or hybrid)
Virtue:
by separating legislative power from executive power, they create internal tensions
that help to protect individual rights and liberties.
Drawbacks:
may be ineffective and cumbersome because they offer an ‘invitation to struggle’ to
the executive and legislative branches of government,
lead to gridlock often when different parties control different branches or even if
same non-united party is in power
Functions of assemblies:
Primary functions:
1. legislation
2. representation
3. scrutiny
4. political recruitment
5. legitimacy
Legislation
Legislation is law making
Laws made by legislature will be seen to be authoritative and binding:
assembly is a forum in which proposed laws can be openly discussed and debated.
assemblies are constituted so as to suggest that the people (or, in pre-democratic
days, the major interests in society) make the laws themselves.
Rarely monopolize legislative authority
Constitutional amendments are often done by referendums, with other branches,
executives can make law by decrees or sometimes veto the legislature etc.
Legislative proposals and programme emanate from executives and specialists, often
their ability to reject or amend laws is also limited by other means and institutions
Task:
Think or if you do not know then Google recent legislation passed or in the process
of being passed in Pakistan, what processes it had to go through, who proposed, who
opposed/approved etc. Example: Zainab Alert Bill
Representation
Representative role in providing a link between government and the people.
American slogan of “No taxation without representation”
Representation is complex, can work in a number of ways :
Representatives as trustees whose prime responsibility is to exercise their own
judgement and wisdom on behalf of their constituents
Doctrine of the Mandate views parties, not assemblies, as the central mechanism
through which representation takes place
Constituency Representation – esp in US which have weak party systems and shorter
terms for HOR – dominated by Pork Barrel Politics: Government projects whose only,
or primary, purpose is to bring money or jobs to a representative’s district or
constituency
Representation was often based on the degree to which assemblies resembled the larger
society – without parties or electoral choice - USSR, communist states, China today
Representation of specific interests: US Congresspersons are often criticized for
catering to their funders rather than voters
Scrutiny and oversight
Ability of assemblies to constrain or check executive power.
Deliver accountability
Developed institutional mechanisms designed to facilitate this role
E.g. questioning of ministers, hearings of judges, confidence votes, parliamentary
committees carry them out
Not always effective: Chinese parliament is nothing more than propaganda for the Chinese
communist party
Accountability by opposition parties (does this work in Pakistan?)
Ability of the assembly to extract information from the executive, freedom of info acts, funding
provided to members of parliament
Task: think of ways PTI at federal level and other parties at provincial levels are being held
accountable nowadays (before Corona as well)
Recruitment and Training
Major channels of recruitment and employment
Recruit and train the next generation of political leaders, thus giving them experience
of political debate and policy analysis
Usually need some parliamentary experience to gain ministries and positions
Often not enough, some learn rhetoric but not managerial or policy skills needed to
run country
Corrupting influence of assemblies: socializing them into norms and values that
distance them from the needs of their constituents and the instincts of grass-roots
party workers.
Legitimacy
Promote the legitimacy of a regime by encouraging the public to see the system of
rule as ‘rightful’
Even dictatorships and authoritarian states have assemblies
Propaganda and educational purpose, now taken over by mass media
Now often dependent on media for coverage
Task: try to find out how dictators in Pakistan have used assemblies?
And how our media helps or discredits Pakistani politicians…?
Structure of Assemblies
Most importantly Structure differ according to whether they:
• Comprise of one chamber or two
• Nature and role of their committee systems
Unicameral or Bicameral Chambers
These two are most common
Unicameralism:
The principle or practice of having an assembly composed of a single legislative
chamber
Thought to be more streamlined and effective than bicameral ones, especially in terms
of responding to the needs of small and relatively cohesive societies.
Bicameralism:
The principle or practice of fragmenting legislative power through the establishment of
two (in theory, co-equal) chambers in the assembly
particularly advantageous in federal states, where the sharing of sovereignty creates a
constant danger of irreconcilable conflict between the centre and the periphery
greatest drawbacks of legislative fragmentation is the possibility of conflict between the
two chambers
Are two chambers are better than one?
YES NO

Stronger checks and balances Institutional conflict and gridlock

Wider Representation Incoherent government, reduced or
confused accountability
Better, more scrutinized legislation
Conservative bias
Committee system
A committee is a small work group composed of members drawn from a larger body
and charged with specific responsibilities
Hubs of assemblies, where things get done
Functions:
• carry out detailed consideration of legislative measures and financial proposals
• committees may be set up to scrutinize government administration and oversee the
exercise of executive power
• ad hoc committees may investigate matters of public concern
Committee system
Advantages:
They allow a range of views, opinions and interests to be represented.
They provide the opportunity for fuller, longer and more detailed debate.
They encourage decisions to be made more efficiently and speedily by restricting the range of
opposing opinions.
They make possible a division of labour that encourages the accumulation of expertise and
specialist knowledge.
Disadvantages:
They can easily be manipulated by those who set up and staff them.
They encourage centralization by allowing a chairperson to dominate proceedings behind a
mask of consultation.
They narrow the range of views and interests that are taken into account in decision-making.
They divorce their members from the larger body, creating a form of sham representation.
Task: find out how many standing committees there are in NA of Pakistan, given the ad/dis of
committee, do you think they are useful?
Performance
How should they be judged is also a debate
1. Policy-making assemblies, which enjoy significant autonomy and have an active
impact on policy – rare now – US congress
it must command significant constitutional authority and respect.
enjoy meaningful political independence from the executive,
it must possess sufficient organizational coherence to undertake concerted action
2. Policy-influencing assemblies, which can transform policy but only by reacting to
executive initiatives
Depends on the strength in the assembly of the governing party, and the party’s ability to maintain
internal unity
Assembly-executive relations are structured by party division
3. Executive-dominated assemblies, which exert marginal influence or merely rubber-
stamp executive decisions
Central function has been to strengthen legitimacy and so assist in the process of nation-building.
It is a backhanded compliment to assemblies that the establishment of military rule has usually been
accompanied by their suspension or abolition.
Factors leading to decline of
assemblies?
1. Emergence of disciplined political parties
o Parties, rather than assemblies, thus became the principal agents of representation, operating
through the doctrine of the mandate.
o Party loyalty also weakened assemblies in terms of their function as debating chambers
o The tendency of party unity to facilitate executive domination.
2. Growth of ‘big’ government
o Growth especially in the areas of social welfare and economic management
o Increased size and status of bureaucracies
o It places greater emphasis on the process of policy initiation and formulation.
o Policy is increasingly complex and intricate, placed a higher premium on expertise, a quality
more abundantly possessed by ‘professional’ bureaucrats than by ‘amateur’ politicians.
Factors leading to Decline of Assemblies?
3. Organizational weaknesses of assemblies
o Large membership numbers, lack of leadership
o More acute in an age in which the public looks to government to solve social problems and deliver
sustained prosperity
o Leadership tends to be provided by parties and only through assemblies.
o Executives have the advantage of leadership over legislature
4. Rise of interest-group and media power
o Assemblies losing power to interests and groups external to government
o For representation: Set up specifically for few purposes, interest groups tend to be more effective
than assemblies in taking up popular grievances, and giving expression to the concerns and
aspirations of particular groups.
o Single-issue groups, for instance, now engage in, and promote, the kind of public debate that
previously took place only in parliamentary chambers
o Become more prominent both as representatives of ‘affected groups’, and as sources of expert
advice and information.
o Susceptibility of assemblies to lobbying has undermined their legitimacy
o Media, and particularly television and new forms of electronic communication, have also helped to
make assemblies appear redundant
Rise of Assemblies?
Become more important as ‘communicating mechanisms’
Media coverage has certainly helped to raise their public profiles and strengthen them as
arenas of debate and agencies of oversight
Trend towards the professionalization of assembly work
Better-informed voters expect more of individual assembly members, but also better-
educated and better-resourced members may be less willing to defer to a party line and
act as ‘lobby’ fodder
General recognition that the legitimacy and stability of a political system is linked to the
perceived effectiveness of its assembly guarantees that, whenever assembly power is
weakened, voices will be raised in protest.
Balance between assemblies and executives is a normative debate
Some questions to ponder…
Does the widespread adoption of parliamentary government reflect the system’s
success and efficiency?
Can separation of powers ever be sufficiently achieved?
In complex modern societies, are assemblies doomed to lose out to executives?
Does the decline of assemblies necessarily weaken representation and accountability?
Do lobbies and interest groups exist in Pakistan?
What in your opinion is the main role that the NA of Pakistan is serving? How would
you access its effectiveness? Are they independent from the executive and the
military?