The key roles of legislatures are drafting, enacting (passing, amending and repealing) laws and exercising oversight over the executive branch of the government. In a democracy, legislators perform these roles as representatives of the people. In order to perform its essential functions, the legislative body, in this case, the Parliament of Tanzania, must be a strong institution of countervailing power to limit the discretion of the executive authority and ensure that the executive exercises its mandate in a transparent and accountable manner. In so doing, the parliament exercises “horizontal accountability” which refers to the oversight that certain branches of government are supposed to exercise over other branches of government. The legislature is an essential branch of government that should provide “horizontal accountability” and is necessary for representative democracy. There is evidence that stronger legislatures are good for democracy.
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