Legislative Development in Africa: Politics and Postcolonial Legacies

295 Pages·2019·7.962 MB·English

by  Ken Ochieng' Opalo

Legislative Development in Africa
What explains contemporary variations in African legislative institu-
tions – including their strengths and weaknesses? Compared with the
more powerful executive branches, legislatures throughout the continent
have historically been classified as weak and largely inconsequential to
policy–making processes. But, as Ken Ochieng’ Opalo suggests here,
African legislatures actually serve important roles, and under certain
conditions,powerfulandindependentdemocraticlegislaturescanemerge
from their autocratic foundations. In this book, Opalo examines the
colonialoriginsofAfricanlegislatures,aswellashowpostcolonialintra–
elite politics structured the processes of adapting inherited legislative
institutions to local political economies. Through detailed case studies
of Kenya and Zambia, Opalo offers comparative longitudinal analyses
oftheevolutionoflegislativestrengthandinstitutionalizationinthetwo
countries. In addition, the book presents a regional survey of legislative
developmentundercolonialrule,postcolonialautocraticsingle-partyrule,
andmultipartypoliticsthroughoutAfrica.
Ken Ochieng’ Opalo is an assistant professor in the School of For-
eign Service at Georgetown University. He received his PhD from Stanford
University and BA from Yale. His work has been published in journals
such as the British Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Democracy,
and the Journal of Eastern African Studies. His research interests include
historicalinstitutionaldevelopment(withafocusonlegislatures),thepolitical
economyofdevelopment,andthepoliticsoftheprovisionofpublicgoodsand
services.Opalo’sresearchhasbeensupportedbyStanfordUniversity’sSusan
FordDorseyFellowship,theUnitedKingdom’sDepartmentforInternational
Development(DFID),andtheOmidyarNetwork.

Legislative Development
in Africa
Politics and Postcolonial Legacies
Ken Ochieng’ Opalo
Georgetown University
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Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781108492102
DOI:10.1017/9781108684651
©KenOchieng’Opalo2019
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
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noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
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Firstpublished2019
PrintedandboundinGreatBritainbyClaysLtd,ElcografS.p.A.
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Names:Opalo,KenOchieng’,1983–author.
Title:LegislativedevelopmentinAfrica:politicsandpostcolonial
legacies/KenOchieng’Opalo.
Description:NewYork,NY:CambridgeUniversityPress,2019.|Originally
presentedastheauthor’sthesis(doctoral)–StanfordUniversity,2015.|
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
Identifiers:LCCN2019005630|ISBN9781108492102(hardback:alk.paper)|
ISBN9781108710350(pbk.:alk.paper)
Subjects:LCSH:Legislativebodies–Africa–History.|Legislative
power–Africa.|Africa–Politicsandgovernment.
Classification:LCCJQ1877.O632019|DDC328.6–dc23
LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2019005630
ISBN978-1-108-49210-2Hardback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracy
ofURLsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredtointhispublication
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accurateorappropriate.
For my parents, Margaret and Raphael Opalo

Contents
ListofFigures pageviii
ListofTables ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xvi
1 Introduction 1
2 LegislativeDevelopmentinAfrica 31
3 Intra-ElitePoliticsandCredibleCommitment 72
4 ColonialOriginsofParliamentsinKenyaandZambia 99
5 EliteControlandLegislativeDevelopment 132
6 LegislativeInstitutionalizationinTime 179
7 ElectoralPoliticsandLegislativeIndependence 208
8 Conclusion 239
References 248
Index 273
vii
Figures
1.1 Thedeclineandriseofpostcoloniallegislatures page7
2.1 Variationincapacityandlegislativepowers 32
2.2 Agematters:coloniallegislativeexperienceandpolitical
development 40
2.3 Thefightformultipartyelectoralcompetition 53
2.4 IntensityoflegislativerepresentationinAfrica 57
3.1 Thecross-pressuredlegislator:multipleprincipalsand
tasks 88
5.1 Administrativevs.partystrengthandelitecontrol
strategies 140
5.2 ThestructuresoftheProvincialAdministrationand
KANU 144
5.3 AdministrativeandpartystructuresinZambia 164
6.1 Legislativesittingsandbillsintroduced 184
6.2 Buyingsupport:cabinetsizesinKenyaandZambia 192
6.3 Multipartyismanddivergenceinshareofbillspassed 193
6.4 Financialresourcesforlegislatorsandlegislatures 200
6.5 Trendsinexecutiverule-makinginKenya 204
6.6 Trendsinexecutiverule-makinginZambia 205
7.1 McCrarydensitytestsofmanipulationofforcingvariable 227
7.2 RDeffectofwinningattonvoteshareatt+1fourth
orderpolynomial 229
viii
Tables
2.1 ThefoundingoflegislaturesandAfricanmembership page35
2.2 Electoralsystemsandeffectivenumberoflegislative
parties 55
2.3 ThenumberofchambersandseatsinAfricanlegislatures 56
2.4 ControloverlegislativecalendarsinAfrica 59
2.5 ComparativelegislativecompensationinAfrica 60
2.6 CorrelatesoflegislativestrengthI 63
2.7 CorrelatesoflegislativestrengthII 65
4.1 ColonialadministrationinKenyaandZambia 102
4.2 Theimpactsofpoliticaldevelopmentinthelatecolonial
period 127
5.1 PostcolonialautocraticparliamentsinKenyaandZambia 134
6.1 Determinantsoflegislativesittingsperyear 190
7.1 ThelowreelectionratesinAfricanlegislativeelections 213
7.2 Trendsincandidacyandincumbentreelection 219
7.3 Theriseandfallofparliamentarypoliticalpartiesin
KenyaandZambia 223
7.4 Manipulationtestusinglocalpolynomialdensity
estimation 228
7.5 RDeffectofwinningattonvoteshareatt+1 230
ix