SOCIAL STUDIES

Government
Form 5
Term 1
FUNCTIONS OF GOVERNMENT
GOVERNMENT

 A group of people who manage the affairs or go

als of a country, as well as regulating the ac

tivities of its society.

 In most countries, governments are elected by

the citizens of a country

MAIN FUNCTIONS OF A GOVERNMENT
 Making and enforcing laws to help maintain order
 Providing economic policies that will allow business
es to create jobs and provide services
 Providing public services like education, healthcare
, road building, and utilities such as electricity a
nd water
 Protecting its citizens with police and armed forces
 Working with other countries to promote trade and in
ternational cooperation
FUNCTIONS OF GOVERNMENT
 Revenue
 Raised largely through taxation
 Borrow money from various institutions e.g. world bank

 Finances
 Drawing up a budget showing how money will be spent
 Policies that stimulate certain economic policies in differen
t sectors
 Welfare
 Benefits those who are unable to work
 Care for children who are orphaned or cannot live with their
family
 Facilities for the elderly
 Assistance for those with disabilities without caregivers

 Employment
 Should ensure that the largest percentage of the population i
s economically active
DEMOCRACY
 A form of government in which all eligible cit
izens have an equal say or participation in th
e decisions that affect their lives.
 Based on principles of fairness, justice, respect
and honour
 Everyone should be treated equally and fairly, wi
th respect
 Respect for the law, for human rights and for civ
il liberties
 Free and fair elections to choose people who will
govern
 People who are elected to serve should do so with
honour and be held accountable for what they do
CONSTITUTION

 A written document that sets out the laws whic

h a country is governed by.
 It outlines:
 How government is structured
 The powers of government
 The rights and responsibilities of its citizens
 How governments are chosen
 The role off the civil service
REFERENDUM

 An opportunity for eligible people to vote on

a particular issue.
 They allow people to have a say in how they ar
e ruled
SECESSION AND ANARCHY

 When a country or group separates from a large

r group to which it belongs, this is known as
secession
 Anarchy is when law and order break down in a
country and is often characterized by an absen
ce of government, political disorder, and conf
usion and lawlessness
REASONS FOR GOVERNMENT
WHY DO WE NEED GOVERNMENT?

 Convenience – it is more convenient and pract

ical for a group of people to make rules and l
aws than for each member of the entire country
to become involved
 Qualification of leaders – authority of makin
g rules should be given to leaders who are mos
t qualified to do so
WHY DO WE NEED GOVERNMENT?

 A group accomplishes more than an individual

– a group can accomplish jobs that are too bi
g for one individual to do
 Law and order – selecting a government and gi
ving it power to make and maintain laws helps
GOOD GOVERNANCE
 Relates to the way that a country is governed, how
public affairs are conducted and how public resour
ces are managed by those in power and authority
 Good governance depends on:
 Its citizens taking part in deciding how a country is
run through voting and knowledge of the political syst
em of the country
 Making sure the judicial system remains independent
 Assuring government is run in an open fashion and is s
een to be above the abuse of power and authority
GOOD GOVERNANCE
 Seeing that the government of a country is held

accountable and their decision making is checked

for corruption or wrongdoing

 Making sure the needs of the citizens are met by

government

 Ensuring that citizens should be given access to

information by government under freedom of info

rmation laws as to how resources and money are a

llocated and how decisions are made

GOOD GOVERNANCE

 Seeing that the government makes good use of i

ts natural, human and financial resources for

the benefit of the country

 Making sure the functions of government are ca

rried out efficiently

 Ensuring that a country’s constitution recogn

izes that its citizens have basic human rights

GOVERNMENT SYSTEMS
FIRST PAST THE POST
 The country is divided into constituencies which cover a particular

geographical area

 Individuals seeking selection to parliament are known as candidates

 Political parties normally put out a candidate for each constituency

 Independent candidates are not affiliated with a party

 The candidate with the largest number of votes wins the constituency

and takes a seat in the lower house in Parliament

 The party that wins the most constituency wins the election

 The leader usually becomes the Prime Minister who is appointed by th

e head of state

 The party winning the second highest becomes the opposition

FIRST PAST THE POST

 If no party wins an outright majority of seats

the situation is described as a hung parliamen
t
 The party that has won the most seats or when
there is no majority, there may be an agreemen
t with the other parties to form a coalition g
overnment
 It is possible for a party without majority of
seats to be sworn in as a minority government
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
Advantages
 Guarantees that the candidate w
ith the highest number of votes
wins the election
 A MP is responsible to the cons
tituency they represent. This m
ay encourage accountability to
constituencies
 Constituencies can choose their
own representatives as against
the party list system
 Constituencies can appeal direc
tly to their representative for
services in the constituency
Disadvantages
 Constituencies that elect membe
rs in opposition may feel under
represented
 A party can be in a position to
form a government even though t
hey did not attract the majorit
y of votes
 It allows for gerrymandering (t
o manipulate the boundaries of
an electoral constituency so as
to favour one party or class)
 Independent candidates who are
not from a political party stru
ggle to gain votes
 People may feel that their vote
is ‘wasted’ and may, therefor
e, be disinclined to vote
PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION SYSTEM
 The number of votes won in an election is proportiona
l to the number of seats won in parliament
 A country is seen as a single constituency

 A list of candidates is prepared by the political par

ties based on the number of seats in Parliament
 People vote for the part rather than the candidate

 Seats in Parliament is awarded to a party based on th

e proportion of votes that the party receives.
 Example: a party wining 25% votes will be given 25% seats
in Parliament
 The candidates on each list will be given in an order
of preference determined by the party.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
Advantages
 Provides for fairer represen
tation of minority political
parties
 Eliminates gerrymandering
 Each party is allocated seat
s in proportion to the votes
to receives
 Less sense of ‘wasted’ and
potentially higher participa
tion
Disadvantages
 Can encourage too wide a r
ange of parties
 May necessitate more freque
nt coalition governments wh
ere no one party wins an ov
erall majority
 Weakens the relationship be
tween voters and parliament
arians if the latter are re
presenting the country not
a local constituency
 The party leader has a lot
of power when compiling or
approving the list of prefe
rred candidates
ELECTORAL PROCESSES
THE ELECTORAL OFFICE

 The Electoral Office/Commission is the agency

which exists to facilitate the electoral proce
ss
FUNCTIONS

 Determine the number of constituencies and the

ir boundaries
 Maintains a register of eligible voters in eac
h constituency
AFTER ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE ELECTION DAT
E: THE COMMISSION
 Publishes a list of registered voters for examination
by the public.
 Register the names and symbols of political party
 Accepts nomination and registration now
 Prints ballot papers which reflect the name, parties
and symbols
 Determines the number and location of polling station
 Trains staff to conduct voting at different polls
 Educates the public through mass media concerning vot
ing process
AFTER ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE ELECTION DAT
E: THE COMMISSION
 Informs the electorate of the polling station assigne
d to them for casting their ballots
 Makes provision at polling stations for CARICOM and i
nternational observers
 Collects ballot papers
 Tallies the votes of each candidate in a constituency
 Reveals the results of the election
 Responds to queries of candidates
 Maintains records and results of the election
PREPARING FOR AN ELECTION

 Identifying major issues

 Manifestos
 Selection of candidates
 Campaign funds
 Campaigning
 Monitoring performance
ELECTING A GOVERNMENT
 Representative Democracy exists in the Caribbean

 Individuals are selected through a voting system or ballot

 Elected representatives have a set period in Parliament, usua

lly five years

 After five years Parliament is dissolved and election is held

 The right to vote is known as franchise or suffrage

 In most Caribbean countries there is universal suffrage – al

l eligible individuals over a given age, are entitled to vote
unless they are not eligible for a particular reason such as
mental incapacity or imprisonment
THE STAGES OF THE ELECTORAL PROCESS
STAGE 1

 Each person who has registered to vote will b

e on the electoral register
 Voters receive information on details where an
d when they can cast their votes, prior to ele
ction
STAGE 2

 At a polling station each voter gives his/her

name or identification card to an official
 If they don’t have an identification card, th
ey can use a normal ID
 The voter’s name is crossed off the list to e
nsure that they only vote once
 Once identification and eligibility is confirm
ed, a ballot paper is given
STAGE 3A

 The ballot paper contains the names of the dif

ferent candidate
 Voters indicate their choice by marking a cros
s in the space next to their choice
STAGE 3B

 The ballot paper is folded in way that the vot

e cannot be seen
 It is placed in a sealed ballot box
STAGE 4

 When the polling station is closed no more vot

es can be cast
 Each ballot box at the different polling stati
ons in a constituency is collected and brought
to a central point
 Seals are checked to see if they were tampere
d with
 Boxes are then opened and votes are counted
STAGE 5

 The votes of each candidate are counted and th

e winner is announced by a returning officer
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE ELECTION OUTCOM
ES

 Campaign strategies
 Campaign advertising
 Campaign spending
 The media
 Public opinion polls
 Voter attitude towards government
 Voter turnout