Executive Presidency Research Articles

Forensic analysis of the Turkey 2023 presidential election reveals extreme vote swings in remote areas

Concerns about the integrity of Turkey’s elections have increased with the recent transition from a parliamentary democracy to an executive presidency under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Election forensics tools are used to identify statistical traces of certain types of electoral fraud, providing important information about the integrity and validity of democratic elections. Such analyses of the 2017 and 2018 Turkish elections revealed that malpractices such as ballot stuffing or voter manipulation may indeed have played a significant role in determining the election results. Here, we apply election forensic statistical tests for ballot stuffing and voter manipulation to the results of the 2023 presidential election in Turkey. We find that both rounds of the 2023 presidential election exhibit similar statistical irregularities to those observed in the 2018 presidential election, however the magnitude of these distortions has decreased. We estimate that 2.4% (SD 1.9%) and 1.9% (SD 1.7%) of electoral units may have been affected by ballot stuffing practices in favour of Erdoğan in the first and second rounds, respectively, compared to 8.5% (SD 3.9%) in 2018. Areas with smaller polling stations and fewer ballot boxes had significantly inflated votes and turnout, again, in favor of Erdoğan. Furthermore, electoral districts with two or fewer ballot boxes were more likely to show large swings in vote shares in favour of Erdoğan from the first to the second round. Based on a statistical model, it is estimated that these shifts account for 342,000 additional ballots (SD 4,900) or 0.64% for Erdoğan, which is lower than the 4.36% margin by which Erdoğan was victorious. Our results suggest that Turkish elections continue to be riddled with statistical irregularities, that may be indicative of electoral fraud.

Of men and the "Ruling Ring": Destructive resilience of Sri Lanka's executive presidency

In this article, I use Tolkien’s three-volume novel <em>The Lord of the Rings </em>as an allegory to elucidate the extent of the hegemonic power accorded<em> </em>to the executive president by the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. For this<em> </em>purpose, I compare the nature of the power dynamics resulting from the<em> </em>executive presidency with that of the ‘One Ring’, which allows its wielder the<em> </em>power to overpower the novel’s world. I draw parallels between their design<em> </em>and the effect upon those who possess them. However, the significance of<em> </em>delving into the nuances of this comparison between law and literature<em> </em>lies not only in its capacity to elucidate the current power dynamics of<em> </em>the executive presidency but also in its potential to challenge these power<em> </em>dynamics. Fantasy literature is especially important in this regard because<em> </em>the function of the fantasy genre is to defy convention, defy the status<em> </em>quo, and imagine the impossible. Therefore, I approach fantasy literature as<em> </em>a form of literary resistance. Focusing on law, the capacity to imagine new<em> </em>visions for justice plays a significant role in the development of the law.<em> </em>I explore what <em>The Lord of the Rings </em>can offer in attempts to dismantle the<em> </em>powers concentrated in the executive presidency. With this aim, I interpret<em> </em>the novel’s quest to destroy the ring as a saga of persistent resistance<em> </em>and apply this interpretation to the Sri Lankan attempts at abolishing and<em> </em>limiting the powers of the presidency so far.<em></em>

Результативність політичного лідерства в умовах президентських і напівпрезидентських демократичних республік: динаміка основних показників

The purpose of the study is to provide a comparative analysis of democratic leadership effectiveness in the relatively large presidential and semi-presidential countries of the world. Providing powerful political leadership is the essential task for presidents and institutions of the presidency in presidential and semi-presidential democratic republics. Countries with presidential and semi-presidential systems of government should be combined under the term “countries (states) with the executive presidency or presidential states (countries)” that reflects their common feature, namely: critical role of the institution of the presidency. Two main indicators of political leadership effectiveness in democratic states are the EIU’s Democracy Index (DI) and comparable GDP (PPP) per capita that reflect the current situation and comparative dynamics in the political and economic fields of societal development. The United States confidently hold economic leadership in the group of polities with an executive presidency, but the DI in this country during the last 15 years has steadily declined. In the subgroup of presidential republics, three Latin American states – Uruguay, Chile and Costa Rica – have noticeably outranked the United States (and South Korea) by the EIU’s DI. The experience of Chile deserves attention: there had been a dramatic upsurge of social unrest in late 2019, but the Chilean president, Sebastián Piñera, and his government took the political initiative and led the process of changing the constitution successfully. In 2020 the semi-presidential Republic of China (Taiwan) had been the absolute leader in political development and economic growth among the states with an executive presidency. The president, Tsai Ing-wen, played a crucial role in implementing and realizing democratic leadership there. Lithuania is the apparent leader in democracy and economic improvement among the European semi-presidential states during the last two decades. The next research of the author in this direction will be devoted to the comparative institutional analysis of the presidency functioning in the United States and Ukraine as the sample countries with presidential and semi-presidential systems of government systems respectively at the present stage of development.

Governance by Perpetual Conflict: How Early Colonial Political Practices Undermine Democracy in Post-Civil War Sri Lanka

Abstract The 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka established a semi-presidential system within the country with constitutional provisions for a powerful executive presidency. Three decades later, practices of the presidents in the post-war period show commonalities with the Sinhala monarchy that prevailed in early colonial Sri Lanka. To substantiate this argument, this paper focuses on four kings from the Sithavaka and Kandyan kingdoms who reigned in Sri Lanka during the Portuguese colonization and the early years of Dutch colonization, i.e. from 1521 to 1687. These kings governed by feeding off perpetual conflict, using such as a political tool to retain their dictatorial authority and political relevance. Despite being formally constrained by the 1978 Constitution, presidents in the post-war period engage in a similar form of governance. However, this local conceptualization of the executive as a monarch clashes with the substantive democratic rationality of the office of president, which requires constitutional and political checks that apply beyond elections. Due to this clash between governance by perpetual conflict, which gains legitimacy from and has been instituted since Sri Lanka’s early colonial past, and democratic governance, the establishment of democratic constitutional norms within the country has been unstable.

Africa’s “Star Pupil” of Neo-Liberal Economic &amp; Political Practices: An Assessment of Ghana’s Elections, US Style Executive Presidency and Parliamentary Governance (1992-2020)

This paper has a dual purpose. First, it lays out the context: post-Cold War/ neo-liberal economic and political order through which western donors have indirectly become managers of African economic and governance institutions. As it were, African leaders have yielded responsibility for Africa’s development to western donors ( The Gist 1986 &amp; Panford 2001). The second objective is to use Ghana to show why and how neo-liberal policies are not only expensive to implement but may have exacerbated Africa’s problems wittingly or otherwise. These policies have diminished drastically Africa’s capacity to rise and face 21 st century development challenges including massive youth unemployment; rising poverty; decaying infrastructure, massive technological deficits and rapidly accelerating income and wealth inequality (Konadu Agyemang &amp; Panford 2006, Alston 2018 and Oxfam 2020).Key themes covered are prohibitively expensive legislatures in Africa including those of Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, and Kenya with excessive salaries and perks with confusing and malfunctioning hybrid of US Executive Presidency incongruent with a British Westminster (Parliamentary) system Ghana has sought to practice since 1992. This study demonstrates dysfunctional governance which it connects to economic mismanagement, corruption or outright looting. This study illustrates how despite being acclaimed a leader in democratic governance, Ghana displays a dearth of creative, smart and practical solutions to Africa/Ghana’s problems. Lastly, we ask a contentious question: With excessive emphasis on elections and parliamentary systems, has Ghana or others “placed the cart before the horse,” exhibited wrong priorities and can African democracies be built on weak economies and can they be sustainable?This paper applies cases ranging from the Presidency in Ghana, which is front loaded with excessive powers, an unwieldy huge cabinet of 111 Ministers (from 2017 to 2021); MPs doubling up as Cabinet members; the use of party manifestos instead of legally mandated national development plans and what the author designates “excessive and fatal partisanship” (Panford 2017) and failure to check excesses of political appointees, “hacks” or operatives. Cases cited include: a Maritime Development Authority Executive who blatantly insists that his 4-Bedroom house needs 14 not 11 air conditioners paid for by the public; Parliament being a mere rubber stamp to ruling parties’ wishes and commands; and how an NDC majority ensured that oil was used as collateral for loans in passing Petroleum Revenue Management Act (2011 ) A major main conclusion is that Ghana ‘s unwieldy and expensive governance is a bulwark to development. Instead, the state detracts from meeting basic needs and tackling revolutionary economic and technological challenges like applying Artificial Intelligence, robotics, green energy and sophisticated manufacturing systems and 5G and 6G communications that will lift massive numbers of Ghanaians out of poverty. Keywords: elections, democracy, governance, neo-liberal economics and politics, and Multi-partism DOI: 10.7176/JAAS/73-02 Publication date: June 30 th 2021

Correcting Arend Lijphart’s Hybrid VI: the case of Guyana

ABSTRACT In Patterns of Democracy (Second Edition, Yale University Press, 2012), Arend Lijphart offered eight forms of government-one parliamentary, one presidential and six possible hybrids. He deemed Types IV and VI problematic because a legislative vote of no confidence in the popularly elected executive would be seen as defiance of the popular will. He felt that these two would be acceptable if the no-confidence motion permitted the executive to dissolve the legislature. In 1980, Guyana created an executive presidency elected directly by the population and since 2000 removable by a parliamentary vote of no confidence which now satisfies Lijphart's Hybrid VI.

The Executive and the Constitutional Reforms Process in Sri Lanka

ABSTRACTThe debate on whether the executive presidential system which was introduced to Sri Lanka in 1978 should be retained, reformed or abolished is not a new one. It is a topic which is central to constitutional reformation in Sri Lanka, but one which always carries the potential of either making or breaking any attempt made at reforming the Constitution. This article examines the character of the post of executive president in Sri Lanka and how the most recent constitutional reforms process (initiated in 2015–2016) has sought to engage with the topic of executive presidency. Departing from the more popular trend of unconditionally critiquing the executive presidency, this article calls for a more realistic and dispassionate assessment of not only the possibility of abolishing the executive presidency but also of the viability of a prime ministerial system in Sri Lanka.

American Literature in Transition, 1910–1920

American Literature in Transition, 1910–1920

Changing the system through instrumentalizing weak political institutions: the quest for a presidential system in Turkey in historical and comparative perspective

ABSTRACTSince the 1990s, debates on a constitutional system reform in Turkey have ignited controversies over the executive structure of its parliamentary system. This article looks at the debate in terms of the interaction between institutional dynamics and politicians’ choices, shaped by past institutional transformations following transitions. It is contended that institutional weaknesses underlying both the presidency and executive–legislative relations in Turkey have provided strong incentives for incumbent elites to challenge existing parliamentary norms and advocate presidential alternatives. Far from contributing to a sober diagnosis of the problems of parliamentarism, the recent constitutional amendment introducing a system of executive presidency has further divided Turkey’s already polarized political and civil society.

A Small Yes for Presidentialism: The Turkish Constitutional Referendum of April 2017

Following four elections in three years, on 16 April 2017 Turkish voters once again went to the polls - this time under the emergency law established after the failed coup attempt of July 2016 - to vote on constitutional amendments aimed at replacing the existing parliamentary system with an executive presidency. This article reviews the content of the proposed constitutional amendments, analyses the campaign including the strategies employed by the main political actors in the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ camps and the resource advantages enjoyed by the ruling party, assesses the electoral performance of both sides through a summary of results from provincial areas and geographical regions, and considers how Turkish politics are likely to take shape under the new system.

Democracy, development and the executive presidency in Sri Lanka

This paper examines the developmental causes and consequences of the shift from a parliamentary to a semi-presidential system in Sri Lanka in 1978, examining its provenance, rationale and unfolding trajectory. Drawing on a wide range of sources, it sets out an argument that the executive presidency was born out of an elite impulse to create a more stable, centralised political structure to resist the welfarist electoral pressures that had taken hold in the post-independence period, and to pursue a market-driven model of economic growth. This strategy succeeded in its early years, 1978–93, when presidents retained legislative control, maintained a strong personal commitment to market reforms and cultivated alternative sources of legitimacy. In the absence of these factors, the presidency slipped into crisis from 1994–2004 as resistance to elite-led projects of state reform mounted and as the president lost control of the legislature. Between 2005–14, the presidency regained its power, but at the cost of abandoning its original rationale and function as a means to recalibrate the elite–mass power relationship to facilitate elite-led reform agendas.

Democratic Aspirations and Destabilizing Outcomes in Afghanistan

The United States and its allies, in control of Afghanistan since October 2001, failed to support the development of an inclusive, legitimate and accountable political system. This paper examines how the imposition of an inappropriate model of democracy, the prioritization of American interests over those of Afghans, and a pattern of expedient political decisions have contributed to the destabilization of the country. The democracy and state-building model imposed on Afghanistan was stymied from the outset by critical foundational flaws. These include the return to power of discredited warlords reviled by most Afghans, the marginalization of particular groups including the remnants of the Taliban movement, and the concentration of power in an executive Presidency at the expense of a weak parliamentary structure. In 2014, along with the drawdown of US and NATO troops, Afghanistan’s disputed election saga ended in a no-victor deal that effectively discarded the (as yet unknown) results of the ballot box. Once again, Washington politics reinforced the grip of a warlord-dominated elite on the machinery of the state and exposed the hollowness of the US-led and UN-supported state building project.

Botswana's Executive Presidency: Implications for democracy

It has been argued that the leadership of Botswana has upheld liberal democracy hence the birth of an admirable nation. However reality has revealed that the Constitution of Botswana is shallow in promoting democracy. The Constitution of Botswana which espouses an executive presidency has vested sweeping powers in the Presidency. It is probable that a traditionalist culture of respect and authority, hindered any disputing of the post-colonial dispensation, and overlooked the absolutism of the Constitution. In terms of the Constitution of Botswana, the President is both Head of State and Head of Government. Thus the presidency has sweeping powers across a diverse range of areas and acts with little review. This defeats the system of check and balances which is necessary for democracy. The paper therefore argues that an executive Presidency is absolutist hence threatens the legitimacy of democracy.

Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control – our College, our future

Dear Editor As the National Consultative Steering Committee (NCSC) comes to an end, we would like to share with you our reflections on the unprecedented recent events in the history of infection prevention and control in Australia. For decades, the professional interests of infection control professionals were represented and advanced by State and Territory Associations and their hard working and dedicated members. The support that members have received over the years was often the result of the hard work of a few, who rarely sought anything in return. The vision for a truly united national body acknowledged that support and benefits for members could be enhanced through increased opportunities to learn and develop whilst also providing an authoritative presence on national and international agendas. As members of the NCSC, we were privileged to conduct a thorough consultation and change management process to identify and introduce a new national organisation for infection prevention and control for Australasia. The consultation process was thorough, engaged and dynamic. Members provided feedback on a range of issues which served one key purpose: the establishment of a new professional body that represents its members now and into the future. The support from members for the new body – the Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control (ACIPC) – was overwhelming. There was not a single dissenting vote to the motion at the 2011 Annual General Meeting. Members shared a vision for the future. Without the valuable feedback, good will and cooperation from all members and Association Executives, such a successful result would not have been possible. The NCSC extend their sincerest gratitude and thanks to all those contributed. It is right to single out the extraordinary work of two of the College’s greatest supporters and visionaries: Claire Boardman and Sylvia Gandossi. Claire Boardman, former President of AICA and the Inaugural President of the College, must be congratulated for her exceptional leadership during this period. Claire’s dedication, work ethic and output have been inspirational. Sylvia Gandossi’s tireless work, effort and support have been critical to the establishment of our College. On behalf of all College members, we convey our sincerest thanks for your remarkable contributions. With the State and Territories Associations finalising their wind downs, and a new President, President Elect, Executive Council, National Secretariat, the appointment of National Operations Manager and the constitution of the College’s committees, the future of our profession has never looked so promising. And now the hard work begins. The success of the College is solely reliant on the work of each and every member. It is incumbent on us all to contribute to our College and the future of our profession. Opportunities for involvement abound and include committee membership, nomination for Executive Council and Presidency, contribution to the College’s esteemed journal Healthcare Infection, special interest groups, and the national Conference to name a few. ACIPC is your College. Make an imprint and shape the future.

Dynamic Positioning for Survival in Political Marketing Warfare Mugabe’s Manoeuvrings out of Crises in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe became independent in 1980 after nearly a century of British colonial settler rule but soon deteriorated into chaos, repression and economic dilapidation under the leadership of Robert Mugabe. Mugabe engineered a major constitutional amendment that saw him amass absolute power by creating an executive presidency as head of state in 1987. The opposition was tortured and stifled through outwitting and outmanoeuvring them and the ordinary people were intimidated and lived in fear. Despite the many crises faced, Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF continue to extend life in government and maintain a reasonable control of the country. This paper concludes that topmost on the reasons for survival through crises is Mugabe’s ingenuity in political marketing warfare and dynamic positioning of the party in accordance with the appealing themes and its systematic destruction of the opposition through a variety of tools, among them torture, blackmailing, propaganda and through instilling fear into the voters, creation of pseudo political parties, repressive constitutional amendments to ensure supreme power and dominance.

From dominion to republican status: dilemmas of constitution making in Sri Lanka

This article examines the main features of Sri Lanka's post-war constitutional development from the independence constitution of 1946 that introduced Dominion self-governing status through the First and Second Republican Constitutions of 1972 and 1978. During this transition, executive power fluctuated between a Westminster style Parliamentary Constitution (1946, 1972) and a Presidential type of Constitution (1978) with a centralised executive directly elected by the people. The general issues surrounding the current debate on constitutional reform in recent years have centred on the abolition of the executive Presidency, an overhaul of the electoral system and the available options for power sharing with the ethnic minorities. The system of proportional representation precludes any political party from either forming a stable government or from securing the super majoritarian requirement of two-thirds of the members of Parliament for amending the constitution. This predicament necessitates the invoking of an extra legal measure of a Constituent Assembly process to adopt an altogether new constitution to settle fundamental issues such as the structure of the state and the mode of electoral representation. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Inside the Putin court: A research note

If the soviet system of government centred on the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, the Russian system has been based on the powerful executive presidency that was established by the...

Mixed Constitutions and Political Instability

Mixed constitutions combine executive presidents with assembly-dependent prime ministers. While some analysts argue that these regimes foster stability, their presidents are also often viewed as pivotal actors when such regimes collapse. Russia's First Republic seemed to fit the latter pattern, and this article inquires into whether the addition of an executive presidency to its constitution truly had a destabilizing effect on Russia's first attempt at democracy. Specialists provide different perspectives on this question. One view is that the constitution had no effect on political outcomes; a second perspective suggests that it may have had effects particular to Russia. Alternatively, its impact may have followed patterns similar to other countries. To examine these views the article provides a classification of this constitution using a comparative typology and then looks at the outcomes of political disagreements over government, policy and the constitution. It finds that these followed the sort of patterns of compromise and conflict that one might expect from a comparative perspective. The implications for our understanding of Russian politics and other political transitions are explored. It is argued that the Russian case helps to clarify the strengths and weaknesses of the mixed constitutions that have attracted such divergent views.

Uganda: Prospects for democracy and the revival of the Kingdoms

Democracy has been conspicuous by its absence in Uganda almost since independence as the executive presidency of Milton Obote gave way to the eight‐year tyranny of Idi Amin and the questionable voting practices which ushered in Obote's second term, itself interrupted by a second military coup in 1985. The attainment of power a year later by the National Resistance Movement of Yoweri Museveni ushered in a period during which political parties including the main opposition Democratic Party were forbidden to hold rallies and the founding of new parties was banned. In March 1996 a presidential election between Museveni and a candidate backed by an alliance of supporters of the DP and Obote's Uganda People's Congress party resulted in a landslide victory for the incumbent head of state. The period before the elections was characterized by continuing constitutional discussions within a Constituent Assembly over the manner in which Uganda's kingdoms, abolished by Obote in his first presidency to overcome the rif...

Parliamentary politics under Gorbachev: Opposition and the failure of socialist pluralism

Opposition in Gorbachev's reformed Soviet parliaments helped show the limits of political perestroika. Opposition came from the democratic Inter‐Regional Deputies’ Group (I‐RDG), whose actions in 1989–90 changed the political agenda by questioning the powers granted to the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Soviet. The democratic opposition and the changes that it helped bring about therefore undermined the centre and its ideas on politics and contributed to Gorbachev's failure. Conservative opposition came from the Soyuz (Union) group, Soyuz however was a reactive force in 1990–91, as the centre of political action had shifted from the all‐Union parliaments to the new executive presidency and the republican parliaments, a shift facilitated by the actions of the I‐RDG.