QUESTION 1: 1.1 By way of examples and references to the appropriate Constitutional Law authorities, briefly explain the different forms of democracy. (16)
1.2 Succinctly explain, with reference to the relevant authorities, the principle of
constitutional democracy from a South African perspecti...
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, QUESTION 1
1.1 By way of examples and references to the appropriate Constitutional
Law authorities, briefly explain the different forms of democracy. (16)
Democracy refers to government by the people. The word democracy
derives from the Greek words Demos meaning the people and Kratos
meaning power.
Democracy comes in two forms direct democracy and representative
democracy. Direct democracy means that all decisions are made by
the people themselves. Representative democracy is when citizens of
the state elect representatives who express the will of the people. A
democracy is characterized by the following:
•Free and regular elections
•A multiparty system
•Universal suffrage (i.e. all citizens above a certain age have the right to
vote)
•The protection of minorities
•Mechanisms to ensure accountability to government.
Forms of democracy:
Direct democracy: means that all the major political decisions are made
by the people themselves – may work in a small community where the
people can meet on a regular basis and decide matters.
Representative democracy: the citizens of the state elect a
representative of their choice and then the representative exercises the
wishes of the people. It demands all the inhabitants of the state should
via direct representation, have a say in which the state is
governed – usually be being represented in the legislature. It’s created
by elections, which need to be held at regular intervals.
Criticisms:
The people can’t be said to govern in any real sense if they go to the polls
once every 4 or 5 years to elect representatives who are free to govern as
they see fit and aren’t obliged to consult the public on important issues.
It’s also weakened by certain groups and individuals – they finance
election campaigns.
On the other hand it’s stated that it’s the only workable form of
democracy in modern times – elections are still powerful mechanisms to
keep a government accountable to the people – if a government loses
sight of the concerns of the population they are unlikely to be reelected.
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