Government Systems of Africa

Remember these terms:

Unitary

Confederation

Federal

Autocratic

Oligarchic

Democratic

Parliamentary Democracy

Presidential Democracy

  1. In a unitary government system who holds most of the power?
  2. The individual voters
  3. The local governments
  4. The central government
  5. Both the central and local governments
  1. In a confederation government system who holds most of the power?
  2. Individual voters
  3. Local governments
  4. Central government
  5. Central and local governments
  1. In a federal system of government, who holds most of the power?
  2. The president
  3. The local governments
  4. The central government
  5. Power is shared among different levels of government
  1. In an autocracy, who makes most of the important governmental decisions?
  2. The courts
  3. The people
  4. An individual ruler
  5. An elected legislature
  1. Which describes the decision-makers in an oligarchy?
  2. Voting citizens
  3. Judges and lawyers
  4. A king and his family
  5. A group of powerful leaders
  1. Why do the individual voters have more power in a democracy than they do in an autocracy or an oligarchy?
  2. Kings are always cruel rulers
  3. The people play a role in deciding who rules
  4. All of the power stays in the hands of the local governments
  5. Voters in democratic countries always choose qualified leaders
  1. Which branch of government is responsible for making and carrying out the laws in a parliamentary system?
  2. King
  3. President
  4. Governor
  5. legislature
  1. Which BEST describes the two predominant forms of a democratic government?
  2. Dictatorship and republican
  3. Presidential and dictatorship
  4. Presidential and confederate
  5. Parliamentary and presidential
  1. The leader of a parliamentary type of government is called the
  2. Dictator
  3. President
  4. Prime minister
  5. Prime negotiator
  1. Who chooses the country’s leader in a parliamentary form of government?
  2. The monarch
  3. Popular vote of the people
  4. Decision by the national courts
  5. The party with the most representatives in the legislature
  1. Which BEST describes a head of state in a parliamentary government system?
  2. Person who has no role in government
  3. Ceremonial figure without much actual power
  4. The most powerful person in the national government
  5. One who can veto or cancel laws passed by the legislature
  1. Which branch of government passes laws in a presidential system of government?
  2. Judicial
  3. Executive
  4. Legislative
  5. Bureaucracy
  1. In a presidential system of government how is a president chosen?
  2. Separately from the legislature
  3. By a decision of the national courts
  4. By a majority vote of the legislature
  5. By the political party with the most representatives in the legislature
  1. What is the role of the president regarding the laws passed by the legislature?
  2. The president is supposed to enforce those laws
  3. The president can change the laws he does not like
  4. The president sends the laws to the states for approval
  5. Laws passed by the legislature do not have to go to the president for approval
  1. What is one main difference between a president and a prime minister?
  2. A prime minister has more power than a president
  3. A president has to be elected while a prime minister does not
  4. A prime minister does not belong to a particular political party, while a president always does
  5. A president is separate from the legislature, while a prime minister answers directly to the legislature

Governments of Kenya, South Africa, and Sudan

Country / Type of Government / Head of State / Who Can Vote / Degree of Personal Freedom for Citizens / Independence Year
Republic of Kenya
Republic of South Africa
Republic of Sudan