The debate on what type of executive Kenyans want under the new constitution is difficult to conclude; it must be kept open until we are better informed and clearer in our minds. Indeed, the matter should not be simplified by putting it in terms of how many centers of power we need. One, two or three centers of power are not the bone of contention.

In a democracy power must be vested in at least three institutions of government: the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary. But most important of all, the individual citizen must also be guaranteed the power to make and unmake government. George Bernard Shaw, the English scholar and writer, once observed that "we need to be governed and yet to control our governors" in all democracies. When one individual controls too much power, especially in the executive branch of government, controlling him or her becomes a headache for the citizens.

He may use this power for the common good, but that is no license for him not to subject himself to the democratic control by the people. It has been argued that Kenya needs a strong executive president in order to govern well. The truth is that we have had excessively strong presidents since independence and we have remained a nation of great potential but a disappointing under achiever for over 40 years. I do not think that we want to travel the same route again.

In a multi-ethnic society like Kenya, we need a political system where people can democratically elect a government which governs legitimately and stably because it is accepted by society as a whole. First, the rules of electing such a government must be accepted as fair to everybody. Second, the group of people who then get the mandate to rule for a period of time must enjoy the broad support of the nation.

India, for example, is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious nation of over one billion people. Yet over the last seventy years India has done very well in terms of political stability and economic prosperity. Not that India is heaven; it is not. But compared to Congo, Ethiopia and Nigeria it has done extremely well. What is the secret? India has survived as a democracy because it has a parliamentary system of government and not a presidential one. The benefit of a parliamentary system in societies such as India and Kenya is that the Prime Minister as chief executive is given power by the people electing the majority party or parties whose leader then becomes the Prime Minister.

The PM is NOT elected by Members of Parliament as some people have asserted; he is elected by the people because the people elect the winning party whose leader is known before the elections are held. Since the PM knows that he must retain the support and confidence of the party or parties, and since the people are the members that make these parties win, there is a definite structure that makes it easier for the people to control their governors.

The executive presidency in Kenya has always resorted to the use of the civil service to rule rather than rule through popularly elected leaders. Authoritarianism finds it easier to impose itself on people after elections when we have the president as head of the executive rather than a Prime Minister who will direct executive actions from the mandate of Parliament. In any case, our recent and past experience as Kenyans shows us that we have problems electing our presidents. Were we to adopt a parliamentary system we would avoid the cut throat competition among individuals every five years for the presidency, and the tendency to fan ethnic passions to get the post.

When it is a question of electing a party that wins to form a government, the campaign is spread among many individuals seeking to build coalitions across ethnic divides. Individuals campaigning for the presidency can put together a few ethnic blocks to re-introduce the imperial presidency that has underdeveloped this nation since independence. Let us therefore proceed with caution in deciding between the presidential system of government and the parliamentary one.

The writer is Secretary General, ODM