What are the merits and demerits of a multi-party system of government?

Explanation

(a) Merits of a Multi-party System of Government

(i) Single -party dictatorship: Multi-party system of govern-ment removes the chances of the evolution or the emergence of a single-party dictatorship.

(ii) Political participa-tion and education: Campaigns and rallies done by parties increase people's education and political participa-tion.

(iii) Choice: The electorate have the opportunity of choosing among the various candidates and programmes of the political parties.

(iv) Organisation: The existence of competition in this system demands for a better party organisation.

(v) Different interests and opinions are is encouraged and reflected in government of the country.

(b) Demerits of Multi-party System of Government are :

(i) Failure or Success of government policies: The elector-ate can hardly identify the party responsible for the failure or success of government policies.

(ii) Coalition gov-ernment: A coalition government may result in this system and it is mostly unstable and weak. This is a common feature of a parliamentary system of government.

(iii) Costly to operate: Multi-party system is a costly one especially when considering the amount of money pumped into organising the political parties.

(iv) Ethnic and sectionally based political parties: The system can produce this unhealthy arrangement and it does not make for the unity of a country.

(v) No common policy: There is no common policy, making the formation of a new government difficult unless there are compromises here and there which may of course not be healthy.