That is, it will derive from greater accountability of decision-makers to their constituents. An implication of this concept is that locally accountable representation in public decision-making must be in place in order to test the hypothesis that participation and decentralization lead to greater efficiency, equity, development and environmental outcomes. In others, there is devolution to non-representative or unaccountable bodies in the name of participation. These cases cannot be expected to lead to many of the outcomes that theory supposes. Development of good decentralized or participatory policies depends on these central elements.
Accountability is thus the measure of responsibility.
There must also be mechanisms to keep the representing body responsive to the community as a whole. Elections are the most commonly evoked mode of representative accountability, although not all elective structures create accountability. In Senegal, for example, where candidates for local elections can only be presented by party list, candidates are ultimately accountable to the nationally registered parties based in the capital, rather than to the local population. In Mali, however, there will be independent candidates in the 1999 local elections. In both Senegal and Mali, local government will receive decentralized forest management powers.