What are the advantages and disadvantages of the referendum as a Essay

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the referendum as a decision mechanism to solve the principal agent problem in political representation - Essay Example The two common types of referendum include; obligatory and facultative referendums. Obligatory referendum emerges when electorate’s votes have the right and responsibility to vote for a particular policy as may be defined by the constitution (Dovi, 2011). The outcomes of electorate’s votes in a referendum are legally binding. On the other hand, facultative referendum involves a vote by certain groups such as parliamentarians, electorates, executives and electorates. Normally, facultative referendum may be carried out in order to make amendments in some sections of the constitution. Facultative referendum may be carried out if certain provisions within a constitution require some amendment (Local Direct Democracy in Europe, 2011). Whereby, citizens might be required to give their opinion by participating in a referendum. In above connection, the outcome of a referendum represents the voice of majority because all citizens participate collectively in a decision making pro cess (Republic of Moldova, 1999). However, the outcomes of a referendum may not always represent a true voice of the electorates because of some political influence before and during the referendum. Whereby, some politicians ay influence electorate’s decisions by manipulating them to accept or reject a particular legislation for their own personal gains (Tierney, 2012). Normally, politicians act as agents while the electorates/ citizens act like the principal. Therefore, the agents have the obligation to act at the best interest of their principle in order to ensure that there is proper agency relationship. This means that conflict of interest may occur when politicians tend to pursue their own personal interest at the expense of their citizens. For instance, politicians may pass those bills that suit their needs at the expense of the electorates (Schiller, 2011). In above connection, referendum may be involved