The Impact of Semi-Presidentialism on Governance in the Palestinian Authority

Abstract

In recent years, semi-presidentialism-where a constitution creates a directly elected fixed-term president and a prime minister and cabinet collectively responsible to the legislature-has become the regime type of choice for nascent democracies. There are now nearly 60 countries with semi-presidential constitutions. 1 And yet, the academic consensus is resolutely opposed to the adoption of semi-presidentialism. When Afghanistan was crafting its new constitution in 2003, a briefing report summed up the general attitude towards this type of constitutional arrangement: this system "risks creating two competing centers of power, which is probably not healthy for a polarized society emerging from conflict." 2 In short, while semi-presidentialism may be easy to choose, it is often considered to be difficult to operate. 3 In 2002, President Arafat ratified the Basic Law of the Palestinian Authority. In March 2003 the Basic Law was amended, incorporating the position of a prime minister and making the prime minister and cabinet collectively responsible to the legislature. Thus, a semi-presidential system was adopted. In January 2005, following Arafat's death, Mahmoud Abbas was elected president. He was supported by a Fatah majority in the legislature. However, in January 2006, Hamas gained a majority at the legislative elections. This led to 'cohabitation' between a Fatah president and a Hamas prime minister and government and created "two competing centers of power", which is said to be so damaging for fragile democracies with semi-presidential constitutions. Following the election, and in the context of an extremely difficult domestic and international situation, the Palestinian Authority descended into civil war.

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