What factors led to the increasing popularity of the presidential system of government in West Africa?

Answer Details

Since independence, many West African states abandoned the inherited parliamentary system for the presidential system. The factors that increased the popularity of the presidential system in the region include the following:

1. Desire for a strong and stable executive: The parliamentary system, with its dependence on shifting party coalitions and votes of no confidence, produced instability. The presidential system, with a fixed tenure for the president, offered a more stable and decisive executive suited to the tasks of nation-building and development.
2. Separation of powers: The presidential system separates the executive, legislature and judiciary, providing clearer checks and balances and reducing the domination of the legislature by the executive that occurred under the parliamentary system.
3. The need for national unity in plural societies: A single, directly elected president who represents the whole nation was seen as a symbol of unity in ethnically divided states, unlike a prime minister who is essentially a party leader.
4. Direct election and popular mandate: The president is chosen by the whole electorate, giving the office a broad national mandate and making the leader directly accountable to the people rather than to Parliament.
5. Reaction against the abuses of the parliamentary system: The fusion of powers under the parliamentary system had enabled prime ministers to become dictatorial and had contributed to crises and military coups. States turned to the presidential model hoping to correct these defects.
6. Influence of the American and French examples: The success and prestige of the presidential systems of the United States and the French Fifth Republic served as models copied by West African states.
7. Clear division of loyalty and a fixed tenure: Because the president cannot easily be removed except through impeachment, the system promised continuity of policy and freedom from the frequent government changes of the parliamentary system.