THE OPPOSITION IN THE PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT

Yıl 2009, Cilt: 11 Sayı: 2, 1 - 16, 01.12.2009

Rıza Arslan

Öz

The Power in the Parliamentary System of Government, which is a type of
democratic system of government, is divided between legislation, execution and
jurisdiction. Since execution is formed out of legislation in the Parliamentary
System of Government, it is liable to the legislation and as a result it is checked
by legislative and juridical institutions. But, in application, it can be set forth
that the legislation is not competent enough to check the execution. One of the
indications of incompetence is the fact that the Prime Minister is selected by the
party or parties which have the majority of members in the parliament. Consequently,
the mission of inspection which Montesquieu put forward in the principle
of division of powers can only be fulfilled by the opposition party or parties
in the parliament. But, since the opposition constitutes only the minority of
the parliament, the legislative inspection gets weaker. This study analyzes the
definition of the opposition by attributing emphasis on it, the role that it plays in
the Parliamentary System of Government, the importance of the Shadow Cabinet
in the context of opposing and methods that can be applied for inspection of
the execution. The opposition should be formed as Shadow Cabinet in the Parliamentary
System of Government in order that the execution can be inspected
effectively. For this reason, this study explicates the definition of the opposition,
the methods of opposing, and a comprehensive opposition organization. In addition,
it is pointed out that the opposition can inspect the Power and the ruling
party through the Shadow Cabinet.
After the parliamentary elections and the lines of parties in the parliament
become clear, as a requirement of Parliamentary System of Government, while
the ruling party or parties are forced to work with the Power, the opposition
party or parties form the opposition front against the Power, the ruling party or
parties in the parliament and their applications. The opposition party should
form the Shadow Cabinet in order to inspect and observe the cabinet more effectively.
The inspection and control of the Power by the opposition in the democratic
system of government is of great importance in terms of stability of the
political regime and even the guarantees the regime to be democratic.
While shaping its policies, the opposition should comply with the secular
and democratic rules of the game. After all, the constitutional spirit gives the
Power and the opposition the mission of representing the public best in the pluralist
democratic system of government and enables them to compete with each
other within the democratic game rules. For his reason, an effective inspection
and check of the Power by the opposition makes the cabinet stick to laws and
minimizes the misuses in the administration. “Competitive and cooperative”
policies should be applied in the opposing methods. The concept of only “Strict
competitive” or “Over compromising cooperative” opposition doesn’t bring
positive results. Furthermore, the opposition’s “Strict competitive” or “Over
compromising cooperative” policies are not encouraged by the public. For this
reason, the opposition should prove that it is a serious alternative to the Power
with its “competitive and cooperative” policies. In this context, the opposition
should warn the Power with constructive policies, receive the appreciation of
the people who voted for the ruling party and show that it is ready to be Power
by producing alternative solutions to the social problems. The opposition should
try to have an image of a party having a high comprising culture by tolerating
the suggestions made by the Power or at least by not rejecting them. The opposition
should avoid having an intransigent party image. It should include the
needs of the majority of voters in the party program and should develop policies
in accordance with them.
In addition to offering a successful opposition, experienced staff should be
brought up. The opposition will only be able to convincingly show that it is
ready to undertake execution and it is an alternative to the Power by training
such staff. For his reason, after the defeat in the election, the party which becomes
the opposition should restructure itself with an emergency assembly and
should not insist on the leaders who weren’t selected by the public. As a result,
the intra-party debates will be resolved sooner without harming the party and
the party will set off with its new leaders confidently. The party should be made
to reach new masses in the context of restructuring, the policies constructed
should be directed to inspect and check the Power and they should focus on
winning the forthcoming election. For this reason, the opposition will need a
professional team which will make its program and policies effective. This team
is called “Shadow Cabinet” in the British Parliamentary System of Government.
The missions of the members of the Shadow Cabinet will be equivalent to
those of existing cabinet. The ministers of the Shadow Cabinet will check the actions
and applications of the ministers of the actual cabinet and have an inspection
over them and will criticize them when needed. Accordingly, the number of
the members in the Shadow Cabinet is equal to that of actual cabinet. In addition,
the members selected for the Shadow Cabinet should be skillful, they
should be let to work actively till the end of the opposition period and with the
experience they gain, they should be appointed as ministers of an actual cabinet
upon a victory in the elections.
As a result, the program of the Shadow Cabinet or the opposition party
should alternate to the applications of the ruling party and it should convince
the social base. The primary missions of the oppositions are shortly checking
and inspecting the Power, trying to affect and direct the Power, developing relations
with great masses of the society, overcoming deficiencies in the party
program through the experiences gained, getting ready for the elections and
getting ready to undertake execution in case of crisis.

Anahtar Kelimeler

The Opposition, Shadow Cabinet, division of powers, Types of oppositions, The Power and The Opposition

PARLAMENTER YÖNETİM SİSTEMİNDE GÖLGE KABİNE’Lİ MUHALEFET

Öz

Demokratik yönetim sisteminde, kuvvetler ayrılığı teorisi gereği, yönetim yetkileri yasama, yürütme ve yargı arasında paylaştırılmaktadır. Ancak parlamenter yönetim sisteminde yürütme yasamadan çıktığından yasamaya karşı sorumlu konumdadır ve bu nedenle yasama ve yargı organları tarafından denetlenmektedir. Fiili uygulamada ise yasama yürütmeyi denetlemede yetersiz kalmaktadır. Çünkü yürütmenin başı olan başbakan, mecliste çoğunluğu oluşturan parti veya partilerin lideri konumundadır. Dolayısıyla Montesquieu’nün kuvvetler ayrılığı ilkesinde öngörülen denetim, sadece meclisteki muhalefet partisi veya partileri tarafından yerine getirilebilmektedir. Muhalefetin mecliste azınlıkta olması, meclis denetimini zayıflatmaktadır. Çalışma bu nedenle muhalefete önem atfederek muhalefetin tanımını, sistem içinde oynadığı rolü ve muhalefetçe oluşturulan Gölge Kabine ’nin önemini analiz etmektedir. Çalışma, parlamenter yönetim sisteminde, hükümetin denetlenebilmesi için muhalefetin Gölge Kabine oluşturarak düzenli ve sürekli muhalefet etmesini önermektedir. Çalışma bu kapsamda muhalefetin tanımını, muhalefet etme yöntemlerini ve kapsamlı bir muhalefet örgütlenmesini irdelemektedir.Etkin denetim için muhalefetin “rekabetçi ve işbirliğine dayanan” politikalar uygulaması gerekmektedir. Muhalefetin “rekabetçi ve işbirliğine dayanan” politikalarla iktidara ciddi bir alternatif olduğunu ispatlaması gerekmektedir. Bu kapsamda, muhalefet bir taraftan hükümeti yapıcı politikalarla uyararak iktidar partisine oy vermiş seçmenlerin beğenisi alınmalı, diğer taraftan toplumsal sorunlara alternatif çözümler üreterek iktidara hazır olduğunu gösterilmelidir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Muhalefet, Gölge Kabine, Kuvvetler Ayrılığı, Muhalefet Etme Yöntemleri, İktidar ve Muhalefet.