Posted by Chester Morton / Monday, 28 November 2016 / No comments
The problems of Political Opposition
Definition of political opposition
A political opposition can be defined as the party or group
of parties that are not in possession of political power. In another sense, it is
the largest party or group of parties after the ruling party. An example of an
opposition party is the New Patriotic Party in Ghana.
PROBLEMS
It is divisive
One of the disadvantages of a political opposition is its
tendency to divide the people. Naturally, once there are many parties, people
will belong to opposing sides of the political divide. In Africa, where
political parties are mostly fashioned along ethnic, religious and tribal
lines, political oppositions tend only to divide the people.
Underutilizes the best brains of the land
Another disadvantage of a political opposition is that it may
underutilize the best brains of the land. In some democracies, whoever wins the
election appoints the officials of state. It so happens that some best brains
of the land who do not belong to the winning party will not ne granted the opportunity
to serve their nation though they have the best ability to do so.
Non-co-operating
opposition
Some political opposition parties, for political
expediencies, refuse to co-operate with the ruling party for the betterment of
the nation. They may resort to boycotts, demonstrations etc, to frustrate the efforts
of the ruling government to formulate and implement good policies that would
make the government popular.
Instability
Some opposition parties are not patient enough for their turn
to come to power. They resort to undemocratic methods to unseat the ruling
government. This creates instability.
Unnecessary criticism
One other disadvantage of a political opposition is that some
of them just criticize the ruling government for the sake of it. They can
oppose anything as long as it is proposed by the ruling government. This attitude
does not promote sustained development.
Can be subversive
Some political opposition can oppose the ruling government to
the point where they try to overthrow it through unorthodox means. Some even
support coup attempts against the ruling government as long as it would create
an opportunity for them to come to power.
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
1. a. What is a political opposition? [3 marks]
b. Highlight five
problems that opposition parties can create in a democratic system. [12 marks]
2. Explain six reasons why in spite of the many advantages of
political opposition, some countries try to avoid party politics. [15 marks]
