ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the question: when and why has the legislature evolved into a significant political institution in some emerging African democracies. Two decades since the resumption of multi-party politics in Africa, Terry Karl's observation that 'elections alone do not a democracy make' is truer today than ever before. Changing the formal rules that specify the nature of executive-legislative relations requires either a constitutional amendment, the passage of specific legislation, or some combination of the two. In addition to monetary resources, African legislatures face a shortage of human resources. The transformation of the legislature also requires that some attention be given to the overlapping issues of constituency service and campaign finance. The emergence of a coalition for change is more likely where the number of seats controlled by the ruling and opposition parties approach parity. During the period of one-party rule, the role of the presiding officer and the chief administrative officer conformed to the patronage-based systems of that era.
