Parties and the Political Process

The induced attrition and gradual elimination of the opposition ¹ discussed in the previous chapter has meant that the NPC remains in practice the main political party in the North. But as V.O. Key has pointed out ² there is a duality of character in any political party. On the one hand, the party has its organization outside the Government to nominate candidates and to campaign for their election. On the other, the party members occupying legislative and executive posts have responsibility for conduct of the Government. As Key put it, “the party group within the representative body has its own organization and its own identity quite independent of the party outside the government”. ³ Concretely, a ‘government’ is a system of complex and inter-relating institutions, institutions which influence and condition party performance in the conduct of public policy and in the process reflect the political forces operative at any given moment. It is this interactive pattern between party (that is the NPC) and government which is examined in this chapter.