Nearly every country in the world has some form of parliament. Parliamentary systems fall into two categories: bicameral and unicameral. Out of 188 national parliaments in the world, 81 are bicameral (162 chambers) and 107 are unicameral, making a total of 269 chambers of parliament with some 44,000 members of parliament.
A unitary governmental system is one where power is concentrated in one central authority, such as a house or a chamber. It may or may not be nonpartisan.
Although the most common legislative model is the bicameral parliament, congress, or assembly, unicameral models exist in many nations, such as Denmark, Finland, Israel, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, Sweden, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, several African countries, as well as communist states.
Countries with unicameral legislatures are often small and homogeneous, where members see no need for a second chamber.
Approximately half of the world's sovereign states are currently unicameral.
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Historical Trends in Africa
At independence, most African states had two legislative chambers - a lower and upper chamber - in their parliament. African leaders saw that as a colonial legacy and as inefficient, so most states removed the upper chambers. Before 1990, only two states kept these bicameral parliaments: Liberia and Nigeria.
Since then, however, 40% of the 44 sub-Saharan African states that hold regular elections have added a legislative chamber to their parliament. The resurgence of African upper houses is puzzling and goes against a worldwide trend.
Outside the continent, countries are getting rid of their upper chambers.
Having two legislative chambers tends to be seen as good for democracy. Research conducted in the west suggests that it fosters stability and efficiency.
The creation of second chambers in western Europe, for instance, helped improve the democratic representation of marginalised social classes, ethnic groups and territories. Also, because most upper houses have veto power, they can serve as a watchdog within the legislature.
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As a result, western donors have encouraged African governments to consider adding an additional chamber to their parliaments. In 2019, the Assembly of European Chambers said it was good for democracy. African governments often give the same reasons when introducing a new upper chamber.
For instance, in Zimbabwe in 2005, president Robert Mugabe and his party argued that the upper house would be a monitoring body, enhancing democracy and the separation of powers. In Kenya, the 2010 senate was designed to support decentralisation efforts. In Côte d’Ivoire in 2016, president Alassane Ouattara said a new legislative chamber would make parliament function better, bolster economic development, and ease territorial and ethnic tensions.
However, anecdotal evidence from local newspapers and descriptive statistics cast doubt on such narratives. In Cameroon, for instance, civil society actors strongly criticised the new senate in 2013 for its lack of independence, legitimacy and competence.
The principal advantage of a unicameral system is more efficient lawmaking, as the legislative process is simpler and there is no possibility of deadlock between two chambers. Proponents of unicameralism have also argued that it reduces costs, even if the number of legislators stays the same, since there are fewer institutions to maintain and support financially.
Motivations Behind Institutional Changes
Institutional changes often sought to weaken the opposition and amplify the executive branch’s control over the parliament.
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Map of Sub-Saharan Africa
Bicameralism undermines democracy in such countries by preventing the opposition from participating meaningfully in the lawmaking process. It also undermines the separation of powers by giving the executive branch of government more control over parliament.
In a recent paper, I investigate the reasons behind the resurgence of bicameralism in Africa. I considered governments’ rationale, which argued that upper chambers would improve the state of democracy. However, quantitative and qualitative data suggests otherwise. This anecdotal evidence is in line with the findings of my paper.
I found that some African governments have used these upper chambers to undermine the separation of powers and weaken opposition groups.
I don’t suggest that all African upper houses are inherently detrimental to democracy. For instance, South Africa’s National Council of Provinces hasn’t hindered the democratisation process that took place in the 1990s.
My paper explored how power holders have used upper chambers. I first statistically analysed the data of 44 sub-Saharan African states holding regular elections over a 30-year period (1990-2020). This statistical model found that when the opposition won seats in the legislature, the likelihood of parliaments becoming bicameral increased by 287%.
I then relied on qualitative evidence to investigate the motives and mechanisms behind the creation of second chambers. Côte d’Ivoire and Zimbabwe illustrate how the electoral vulnerability of ruling parties has led to a resurgence of bicameralism in Africa.
Fulfilling an electoral promise, Côte d'Ivoire’s president Ouattara created a senate in 2016. Despite his claim about the democratic benefit of bicameralism, Ouattara used the senate to weaken the opposition and solve the crisis his ruling coalition was facing. Ouattara designed a senate that would allow him to regain control over the coalition and the political scene. He engineered the senate selection process and manipulated the electoral calendar. His coalition obtained nearly 84% of the vote.
This allowed Outtara to find positions for coalition members who had lost seats in earlier elections. In Zimbabwe, Mugabe created a senate in 2005 after his party had been defeated several times at the parliamentary level.
Mugabe and his government didn’t use appointed seats like in Côte d’Ivoire. Instead, they manipulated constituency boundaries to gain an electoral advantage in the senatorial vote. The main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, didn’t know how to react and organise for senatorial elections.
Part of the opposition party’s leadership called for a boycott of the election, knowing they had little chance of winning. Others wanted to participate. This disagreement escalated into a conflict that almost led to the opposition party’s collapse.
Examples of Unicameral Legislatures in Africa
Several African countries operate with unicameral legislatures. Here are a few examples:
- Uganda: The 11th Parliament has 529 seats, with a significant gender representation gap (Male 353, Female 146).
- Tanzania: The 10th Parliament has 388 seats (Male 245, Female 143).
- Burkina Faso: The 8th National Assembly has 127 seats (Male 119, Female 8).
- Zambia: The 9th Parliament has 167 members (Male 139, Female 28).
- Gambia: The Parliament has 58 seats (Male 53, Female 5).
- Sierra Leone: The 4th Parliament of the Second Republic has 146 seats (Male 128, Female 18).
- Botswana: The 12th Parliament has 61 seats, with gender representation data not provided.
- Mauritius: The 10th National Assembly has 70 seats (Male 56, Female 14).
The following table provides a summary of the structure, session, term, seats and gender representation in the parliaments of several African countries:
Times Talk - Benefits of the Unicameral Legislature as Modeled by Nebraska
| Country | Structure of Parliament | Session | Term | Seats | Gender Representation (M/F) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uganda | Unicameral | 11th Parliament | 5 years | 529 | 353 / 146 |
| Tanzania | Unicameral | 10th Parliament | 5 years | 388 | 245 / 143 |
| Burkina Faso | Unicameral | 8th National Assembly | 5 years | 127 | 119 / 8 |
| Zambia | Unicameral | 9th Parliament | 5 years | 167 | 139 / 28 |
| Gambia | Unicameral | - | 5 years | 58 | 53 / 5 |
| Sierra Leone | Unicameral | 4th Parliament | 5 years | 146 | 128 / 18 |
| Botswana | Unicameral | 12th Parliament | 5 years | 61 | Data not provided |
| Mauritius | Unicameral | 10th National Assembly | 5 years | 70 | 56 / 14 |
In contrast, some African countries have bicameral legislatures, such as Kenya, Liberia, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
The Impact on Democracy
The resurgence of African bicameral parliaments shows the importance of being wary when pushing for institutional reform. Bicameralism doesn’t necessarily improve the state of democracy. In fact, in countries where democracy still struggles to take root, power holders can use upper houses to gain greater control of the legislative branch.
When designing and promoting institutional reform, policymakers, donors and civil society actors should pay close attention to the political aspects of these reforms.
