A

Democracy is about elections, but after elections are concluded there must be other mechanisms for holding the government of the day accountable for its actions on a regular basis. Accountability is often used synonymously with other concepts, such as responsibility and responsiveness, but in a strict sense the term refers to requirements for an individual or public organisation to render an account to parliament or some other source of legitimate authority. The principles of accountability for performance apply more directly to public organisations, and even individual administrators, than they do to the political executive. Government will always have to be concerned with procedures and with ensuring equality of treatment for citizens, as well as the appropriate use of public money. Public organisations are now being held accountable upward to the sources of delegated powers, down to the public, and also to objective performance standards.