Power-sharing

• Power-sharing


  Dividing power = weakening the country
• Ethnic


  A social division based on shared culture. People belonging to the same ethnic group believe in their common descent because of similarities of physical type or of culture or both. They need not always have the same religion or nationality.
• Belgium is a small country in Europe, smaller in area than the state of Haryana. It has borders with France, the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg. It has a population of a little over one crore, about half the population of Haryana.
• Ethnic composition of Belgium

  • 59% Flemish region, Dutch-speaking
  • 40% Wallonia region, French-speaking
  • 1% German-speaking
• In the capital city Brussels, 80% people speak French while 20% are Dutch-speaking.
• Sri Lanka is an island nation, just a few kilometres off the southern coast of Tamil Nadu. It has about two crore people, about the same as in Haryana.
• Ethnic Communities of Sri Lanka

  • Sinhalese
  • Sri Lankan Tamil
  • Indian Tamil
  • Muslim
• Majoritarianism


  A belief that the majority community should be able to rule a country in whichever way it wants, by disregarding the wishes and needs of the minority.
• In 1956, an Act was passed in Sri Lanka to recognise Sinhala as the only official language, thus disregarding Tamil.
• The governments in Sri Lanka followed preferential policies that favoured Sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs.
• A new constitution in Sri Lanka stipulated that the state shall protect and foster Buddhism.
• Civil war


  A violent conflict between opposing groups within a country that becomes so intense that it appears like a war.
• Belgian model of power-sharing

  • Constitution prescribes equal number of Dutch and French-speaking ministers in central government
  • Many powers given to state governments of the two regions, not subordinate to central government
  • Brussels has a separate government with equal representation of both communities
• Prudential


  Based on prudence, or on careful calculation of gains and losses. Prudential decisions are usually contrasted with decisions based purely on moral considerations.
• Moral


  Emphasising the very act of power sharing as valuable, rather than just the outcomes.
• Power sharing is the very spirit of democracy. A democratic rule involves sharing power with those affected by its exercise, and who have to live with its effects.
• Khalil


  A man from Lebanon
• Khalil's parents came from different communities. His father was an Orthodox Christian and mother a Sunni Muslim
• This was not so uncommon in the modern, cosmopolitan city of Beirut, Lebanon where people from various communities lived together and intermingled, yet fought a bitter civil war among themselves
• One of Khalil's uncles was killed in that civil war
• At the end of the civil war, Lebanon's leaders came together and agreed to some basic rules for power sharing among different communities
• Power sharing rules in Lebanon

  The country's President must belong to the Maronite sect of Catholic Christians, the Prime Minister must be from the Sunni Muslim community, the post of Deputy Prime Minister is fixed for Orthodox Christian sect and that of the Speaker for Shi'a Muslims
• Under this pact, the Christians agreed not to seek French protection and the Muslims agreed not to seek unification with the neighbouring state of Syria
• When the Christians and Muslims came to this agreement, they were nearly equal in population. Both sides have continued to respect this agreement though now the Muslims are in clear majority
• Khalil's view on the power sharing system

  He does not like it one bit, he wants Lebanon to be like any other 'normal' democracy where an election is held, everyone can contest, and whoever wins maximum votes becomes the president, no matter which community he comes from
• Khalil's elders, who have seen the bloodshed of the civil war, tell him that the present power sharing system is the best guarantee for peace
• Vetal: '"If you had the power to rewrite the rules in Lebanon, what would you do? Would you adopt the 'regular' rules followed everywhere, as Khalil suggests? Or stick to the old rules? Or do something else?"'
• An intelligent sharing of power among legislature, executive and judiciary is very important to the design of a democracy.
• The Constitution of India provides for such a division of powers among these three organs of government at both national and state levels.
• In our country, we also have a President, Prime Minister and Chief Justice, but their roles are different from those in Lebanon.
• Our President is elected by members of Parliament (MPs) and has limited powers. He/she cannot dismiss the Government or dissolve Parliament. The President’s role is mainly ceremonial.
• The Chief Justice leads the Supreme Court and decides when cases can be heard by it. However, he/she does not have any political authority.
• Our Chief Justice is appointed by the President on the advice of the Supreme Court Collegium. This body consists of five senior judges of the Supreme Court. They decide which judge will be made the Chief Justice.
• Our President is elected through universal adult franchise (all adults above 18 years of age) and serves a term of five years.
• This ensures that all branches of government work together but also keep checks on each other.
• Our Prime Minister is chosen by MPs and heads the Government. His/her main job is to run the day-to-day affairs of the nation.
• Our President is the head of the nation and represents us internationally.
• Our President has limited powers and cannot interfere with the day-to-day running of the government or administration of justice by judges.
• There is also a balance of power between them so that none of them gets too much power over others.
• There are many other countries where there is no president like ours. In some countries, the head of the Government is called Chancellor, Premier, etc.