DEMOCRACY

Democracy can be defined as a type of government in

which people through periodic elections exercise their
political power by electing their representatives who will
carry out governmental duties on their behalf.
Abraham Lincoln (the 16th American President) defined
democracy as the government of the people, by the
people and for the people.
TYPES OF DEMOCRACY
I. Direct Democracy : This is a form of democracy in
which all the citizens of a country gather at a particular
or designated place for the purpose of governing the
country.
II. Indirect or Representative Democracy : In this form
of democracy, some set of people are elected to
different levels of governance in the country to
administer the country on behalf of those people(the
rest of the people in the country) who elected them into
office.
FEATURES OR CHARACTERISTICS OF DEMOCRACY
I. Party system : There are political parties in the country through
which people can actualize their aspiration of contesting for and
occupying an elective position in the country.

II. Elections : Elections are conducted periodically from time to time in a

representative democracy.

III. Independent judiciary : Judiciary organ is independent of both the

executive and the legislature, hence it is able to carry out its duties
without let or hindrance.

IV. Rule of law : Rule of law exists, and so everybody is treated equally.
Everybody is under the law no matter your position or influence.

V. Freedom of choice : In a representative democracy, voters are free to

choose who will be their rulers or representatives from among the list
of numerous contestants in an election.

VI. Fundamental Human Rights : Rights of citizens are promoted and

guaranteed in a democracy. The law frowns at human rights abuse and
punishes the offenders.

VII. Tolerance of Opposition : In a true democratic setting, opposition is

allowed and tolerated. People are allowed to express their views about
government policies without being intimated or harassed.
ADVANTAGES OR IMPORTANCE OF DEMOCRACY

Advantages of representative democracy are derived from the

perspectives of the importance of democracy and they include
the following :
I. It gives opportunity for free choice of leaders : Democracy
allows the electorates to choose whosoever they feel should be
their leader. Democracy does not allow anyone to be imposed
on the citizens.
II. Existence of Rule of law : The rule of law operates in a
democratic setting. The leaders rule based on the principles of
the rule of law.
III. It gives legitimacy to elect people : Legitimacy refers to the
acceptance and recognition by the citizens of a country the
rights of leaders to govern. Democracy makes elected people to
have the support of their followers since the people chose
them in the first place.
IV. Equality of people or individuals : In a democratic setting,
there is individual equality, freedom and protection of life and
property.
V. It ensures equal opportunity for all citizens : Constitutional
democracy provides equal opportunity for all citizens in every
area of life.
VI. It encourages political stability : Through voting, it is
possible to peacefully change a bad or non performing
government.
VII. It Discourages Misuse of Power : Under constitutional
democracy, powers are not concentrated in the hands of an
individual; and this helps in preventing such person from
misusing the power to oppress the people.
VIII. It Encourages Tolerance : Democracy allows the majority
to have their say while the minority are also given the
opportunity to contribute to the progress of the nation.
Disadvantages or problems of representative democracy
Problems of representative democracy are derived from the
perspectives of the disadvantages of democracy and they
include the following :

I. Partial Education of voters : In democracy, education of

voters centres only on issues relating to how to vote correctly.
Politicians in most cases do not divulge real issues like the state
of the economy to the electorates. Most voters are lured to
cast votes based on parties that can give them money and not
the one that will turn their situation around.
II. It allows Money Politics : Though democracy emphasizes
power to the people, only few people with money most times
are able to get power to rule over the people. Sometimes
people with lofty ideas on how to move the nation forward are
not able to get near the corridor of power because they lack
the required finance, thus giving way to those with money but
with practically nothing to offer. This give room for bad
governance and corruption.
III. Corruption within Democratic Government : Politicians in
power award contract only to their party faithful for assisting
them to rig elections that brought them to office. Some of
these contracts are never executed, despite that the agreed
sum would have been paid to them.
IV. It promotes moral decadence : In the build up to elections,
so many atrocities are carried out without the full weight of the
law being brought on the perpetrators particularly if they are
from the ruling party. This practice and other similar ones
without doubt, brings about moral decadence in the society.
V. Most important decisions are made by few people : In
democracy , selected few people decide on the very important
decisions that affect the lives and future of the entire people in
the country. Most of these policies are never subjected to
ratification by the people before they are made binding on the
people.
VI. Democracy is too expensive to practice : The major
problem or disadvantage of democracy is the colossal amount
of money that goes into it. Democracy requires the setting up
of many institutions for it to work . These institutions require
money for their establishment and maintenance. Without these
institutions, democracy will be in jeopardy.

RULE OF LAW IN A DEMOCRACY

Rule of law could be described as supremacy of law over
every citizen in a country or nation. It emphasizes
supremacy of law, equality before the law and the
presence of individual rights.
According to A. V. Dicey who propounded the doctrine o