ADVANTAGES OF DIRECTLY ELECTING THE
HEAD OF GOVERMENT AT THE STATE LEVEL
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Direct elections of the Head of Goverment
or the Chief Minister, and the resulting strengthening of
the separation of powers, have clear and decisive advantages
at the State level.
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1. No incentive for vote-buying. |
As the Head of Goverment is elected directly,
there will be no incentive to overspend for legislative office.
Electoral irregularities such as vote-buying will no longer
exist.
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2. Reduced corruption. |
Once survival of the executive for a fixed
term is guaranteed, there will be no need for compromise and
corruption.
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3. Less abuse of power by legislators. |
Direct elections will ensure that the legislature
can no longer abuse its power as 'the disguised executive'.
As legislative office will be directly meant for law making
and checking the abuse of executive authority, the power of
patronage will not be available to legislators.
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4. Honest candidates get elected. |
Image and agenda of the leader will be decisive
factors in getting elected. Thus serious-minded, public-spirited
citizens can get elected to the legislature.
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5. Unbiased & quality governance. |
As the executive's survival is independent
of legislators' support, there will be honest and unbiased
governance. Honest people will actually be able to survive
in politics. The executive would also be free to recruit people
outside the legislature, and thus the quality of governance
will dramatically improve.
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6. Strong local governments. |
Local governments can become really strong
and effective as the State legislator will not perceive a
threat to his position from the local government executive.
Since the State legislator's position will not be based on
patronage, he could be the voice for local government's initiatives,
not an adversary.
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7. Greater State autonomy, and improvements in federal relations.
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As there will be no need for nominated governors,
federal relations will improve, while states will enjoy greater
autonomy.
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8. Authority with accountability. |
The political executive will be accountable
in numerous ways. Firstly, The legislature will have real
control in law-making and budget approval. Therefore, the
executive will be kept in check in an institutionalized manner,
and will have to co-opt the legislature to carry out its legislative
agenda and policies. Secondly, an array of in-built safeguards
will prevent abuses of executive power. At the State level,
there is no fear of authoritarianism, as the Union Government,
Election Commission, Supreme Court etc., will act as checks.
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