A system of government in which people elect their lawmakers and make them accountable for their actions and inactions in government is

Step 1: Analyze the question The question asks for the system of government where citizens elect their lawmakers and can hold them accountable for what they do (actions) and fail to do (inactions).

Step 2: Explain the concepts

• Representative government: Citizens choose people through elections to make laws and decisions on their behalf. Those representatives answer to the voters, who can re-elect, recall, or vote them out.
• First-past-the-post: This is an electoral system, where the candidate with the most votes wins. It is not a system of government.
• Oligarchy: Rule by a small, privileged group. The people do not elect or control them.
• Checks and balances: This is a mechanism that stops any one arm of government (executive, legislature, judiciary) from becoming too powerful. It concerns the relationship between arms of government, not voters electing lawmakers.

Step 3: Eliminate the options

• B is a method of voting, not a system of government, so it is out.
• C is undemocratic, so it is out.
• D deals with the separation and control of powers among government arms, not the people's election and accountability of lawmakers, so it is out.
• A fits both key ideas: election of lawmakers and accountability to the electorate.

Step 4: Answer The correct option is A. a representative government.

Exam tip: Look for key phrases. "People elect... and hold accountable" points to representative government. "Winner gets the most votes" points to first-past-the-post. "Few people rule" points to oligarchy. "Arms of government limit each other" points to checks and balances.