By Morgen Makombo Sikwila
In a democratic state, there should be the opposition. A democracy operates on the basis that there is room for choice all the way up to the selection of the government.
This implies that the legislature, which makes laws of the country, must itself provide an opportunity for various views to be heard throughout the term. These views should encompass not only those on government benches some of whom may want to suggest variations in procedure to those envisaged by the Minister in Cabinet, but also those who are opposed to the policies underlying the ways of operation.
 Lawfully elected representatives of the people must be able to present and discuss alternative policy options even if they are not part of the government and do not have an immediate way of making their plans succeed.
Such political grouping with the legislature is called the opposition and commonly refers to all those parties that do not constitute the government. The Leader of the largest party in parliament becomes the Leader of the Opposition. That such position can be provided constructively without with transgressing the constitution or being disloyal to the nation has been accepted by democracies for some years.
Far from disloyal, voters expect that their representatives play active roles in parliament whether as a government or as an opposition Member of Parliament. The society entrusts the opposition an important role and that media give space to the views of the opposition in their day-to-day reports of the affairs of parliament.
A member of Parliament plays crucial roles in the legislature- a legislator is enactor of laws, a representative of his or her constituency, a scrutinizer of the work of the work the executive and a supporter or critic of proposals laid before the House.
The opposition has limited opportunities as initiators of legislation but their roles as representatives is undiminished and greater burdens devolve on opposition members than on government backbenchers in regards to scrutiny and oversight.
The opposition has a duty to themselves and their voters to play the role of alternative government and indeed, the role of a government in waiting.
In matured democracies, this is well recognized and the Leader of the largest opposition party is often given access to sensitive information on the basis that he or she is the Head of State in waiting- has to be ready to perform the role of running the country at comparatively short notice.
The opposition has the responsibility of giving attention to the continuous development of its policies and keep them in view before parliament and the people. The opposition must be responsible, respected and united as a political party and it must create policies that are relevant to the day-to-day lives of people.
The government has its responsibilities to the opposition. Sufficient resources should be provided for carrying out the work of a responsible loyal opposition. There must be an an adequate level of access of information, available to Ministers and their Civil Servants and for fair advice from parliamentarians; including parliamentary counsel. There must be recognition of the special place of the Leader of the Opposition and opposition spokesperson.
The opposition scrutinizes the operations of the executive, exercising the oversight of the implementation of the law from an angle of performance and accountability.
This is where the opposition makes sound contribution towards efficient running of the country but also makes its own points and demonstrates how their policies might have achieved better results.
There is a battery of mechanisms available to members interested scrutinizing the work of the executive. This can be done through questions put to the Leader of the House and Cabinet Ministers for answers in parliament. The opposition has time to debate or raise particular issues which are allowed under Standing Orders and Practices.
Parliamentary Committees involved in scrutiny provide the most opportunities for the opposition.
The opposition can also present Bills themselves, as can a government backbencher, under certain limited procedural conditions. They cannot be money Bills. Only a Minister may present these in parliament.
It is the duty of the opposition to make known in parliament the feelings of those sectors of society whose views may otherwise be ignored or unknown to the government.
The opposition often has a difficult decision to make in regards supporting government on a piece of legislation or in working to a consensus on a policy matter. This could be a statesmanlike approach and in the national interest, but the possibility of negative perception of such moves by civil society and the people can be damaging to the opposition.
The minority interests that the opposition represents may feel hard done, grieved or neglected if the consensus is easily reached. This may result in the opposition putting forward an alternative view even if the national interest dictates otherwise.
The opposition may have to be careful in how it presents itself in relation to particular Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). These may have their disagreements with the government and will seek to engage the opposition in their cause.
If the opposition espouses the position of the NGOs or CSOs, this may be misunderstood by others to mean the opposition agrees with the objectives and methods of action of NGOs or CSOs. This could in effect damage the interests of the opposition in relation to other components of the society. The opposition must be willing to argue out its position with civil society and pressure groups.
The opposition’s main role is to question the government of the day and hold them accountable to the public. This also helps to fix mistakes of the Ruling Party. The Opposition is equally responsible in upholding the best interests of the citizens.
Morgen Sikwila writes in his personal capacity and his views do not reflect those of The Midweek Watch. He uis a holder of MSc Peace and Governance
BSc Counselling
Diploma in Environmental Health Health
Certificate in Marketing Management
morgensikwilam@gmail.com 0772823282
