ABSTRACT
That the opposition is as important as the government in a democratic system has long been recognised. Also recognised is the fact that the opposition is an integral and important part of the political system. The quality of performance and leadership which the opposition provides has a major bearing on the quality of politics as a whole (Emy, p.383). It provides alternative elites which are able to move easily into the offices of government upon the defeat of the existing national leadership in an election, helps in the broad inculcation of democratic values both within the following and the society at large and provides a means by which the governors have information on what is transpiring within the governmental system (Milnor and Franklin, 1973, p.430). The opposition publicises the implications of policy, identifies the issues for debates, and ensures that the government, when trying to fulfil its demands, does not take short cuts which undermine the basic ‘rules of the system’ (Emy, p.383). The rules require that certain fundamental questions, such as the regime and the form of government, remain outside the party fight (Wheare, p.80). These also require that while the government is to be allowed to get its programme through, the opposition must be given all reasonable opportunities for criticising the programme (Richard, 1978, p.59). Although the government and the opposition in western democracies often try to keep each other at arm’s length, the two nevertheless mostly agree to abide by the genera] rules of the system.
