Types of Democracy

Direct Democracy
• As the name implies, direct democracy is a type of democracy where members can directly or
personally participate in dialogue and decision making.
• As previously mentioned, an example of this is the democratic system of Ancient Athens.
Another example is the process used by smaller democratic groups like clubs and small towns
where members would gather in a meeting to discuss and vote on important matters. Today, the
only country that incorporates substantial elements of direct democracy is the Swiss
Confederation, the official name of Switzerland. Swiss citizens can directly influence the
creation or amendment (which means alteration or correction of a law or document) of laws
and their constitution by voting on referendums. A referendum is a vote by the electorate
(electorate means all people who are entitled to vote) on a single issue. On average, a Swiss voter
would vote on a referendum four times a year.
 Representative Democracy
• Representative democracy is a type of democracy where officials are
elected by the citizens to act in their behalf.
• For example, the House of Representatives of the Philippines is
composed of 297 representatives, of which 238 are representatives
from legislative districts and 59 are party list representatives Most of
the democracies today are representative democracies. In theory,
representative democracy makes it possible to convey the needs,
desires, and opinions of millions of citizens through the representatives
that they have elected.
Representative democracy can be further categorized into 2 systems. These
are parliamentary and presidential.
• Parliamentary System - In a parliamentary system, citizens elect members of the parliament, which is
the main legislative (law-making) body. The members of the political party (groups of politicians with
the same political beliefs) with the highest number of elected representatives select a prime minister,
which is the highest political position. The prime minister assumes leadership responsibilities while still
acting as a member of the parliament.
• Presidential System - In a presidential democracy, citizens elect a president who serves as head of state
AND leader of the government. The government itself is usually divided into three branches namely the
executive branch, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch.
• The executive branch is led by the president, who appoints members of the cabinet. Each cabinet
member leads a department of the executive branch such as education, finance, and national defence.
They also serve as advisors to the president. The vice president, who holds the second highest political
position in the country, is normally appointed as a cabinet member.
• The legislative branch is responsible for making laws. In most cases, the legislative branch is divided
into a senate and a house of representative. All members of both groups are elected by the citizens.
• The role of the judicial branch is to interpret the laws. It is composed of the court system. There is
usually a Supreme Court which is led by Supreme Court judges