Separation of powers is the cornerstone of any list of checks and balances for a shared governance regime (“A shared governance regime must contain strong checks and balances!” SN 4 April 2012). This is because in an ethnically divided society such as ours every effort should be deliberately made to allow all ethnic groups a visible and meaningful say in the decision-making process and to dispel and check any ethnic majoritarian tendencies.
Even experts such as Arend Lijphart, who support parliamentary-type systems as best suited for divided societies agree that they are not very supportive of a separation of powers. Thus Lijphart wrote: “In theory, it (a parliamentary system) makes the executive subservient to the legislature, but in practice it means that, on every important vote,