Kumasi, Ashanti Region, Ghana, March 19, 2019//-Over the past few decades, public opinion surveys have indicated that democracy has achieved overwhelming support from people and has played a pivotal role in the socio-economic development of virtually all countries in Ghana.
But opponents of democracy are not enthused with the current practice of democracy in several countries across the world.
The question remains, however, whether supporters of democracy recognize and endorse fundamental democratic characteristics separate from authoritarian characteristics.
Careful analysis and survey had revealed that the greater percentage of those who say they support democracy are either unsure or misinformed about essential attributes that constitute a democratic system of government.
Democracy, which derives its source from the Greek word “demos”, or people, is defined, basically, as government in which the supreme power is conferred in the people.
In some forms, democracy can be exercised directly by the people; in large societies, it is by the people through their elected agents. Or, in the notable phrase of President Abraham Lincoln, “democracy is government of the people, by the people, and for the people.”
Freedom and democracy are often used interchangeably, but the two are not equal. Democracy is indeed a set of ideas and principles about freedom, but it also consists of practices and procedures that have been modelled through a long, often convoluted history. Democracy is therefore the institutionalization of freedom.
Democracy is more than just a set of exact government institutions; it rests upon a well – understood group of values, attitudes, and practices – all of which may take different forms and expressions among cultures and societies around the world.
Democracies rest upon fundamental principles, not uniform practices. The core democratic characteristics are the fundamental features that identifies a democratic state.
One core characteristic of democracy is government in which power and civic responsibility are exercised by all adult citizens, directly, or through their freely elected representatives. This implies that in a democratic state, all decision-making process and policy execution should involve the citizenry, either by directly by themselves or through their elected representatives. The elected representatives should be accountable to the people and be held responsible for their actions as political leaders.
Moreover, democracy rests upon the principles of majority rule and individual rights. Democracies guard against all-powerful central governments and decentralize government to regional and local levels, understanding that all levels of government must be as reachable and receptive to the people as possible in a democratic indulgence, the views of the majority representation is given the primacy, but also the stance of the minority group in any decision making should also be taken into careful consideration devoid of favouritism and contempt.
Protection of human rights and freedom is a basic hallmark of a democracy.More specifically, in democracy, these fundamental or inalienable rights include right to life, freedom of movement, freedom of speech and expression, freedom of religion and conscience, freedom of assembly and association, and the right to equal protection before the law. This is by no means a complete list of the rights that citizens enjoy in a democracy, but it does constitute a set of the complicated core rights that any democratic government worthy of the name must indorse.
In addition to the protection of human rights and freedoms, democracy conducts regular free and fair elections open to citizens of voting age. Free and fair elections are an intimate trait of democracy.
Elections legitimize the government and provide a mechanism for political dialogue between rulers and citizens. Moreover, they allow citizens to choose from different political platforms, side with opposing parties, and they enable political involvement and organisation. While elections are an important element of democracy, elections on their own do not make a democracy. The absence of transparent, free and fair elections always means that a country is undemocratic.
To conclude, democracy has become the universally favoured system of government. Despite the fact that the essentials of a fully democratic system are not recognized or correctly assessed by a majority of its supporters, democracy still remains the most acceptable and adopted system of government. But undemocratic behaviours are still on the rise.
By Gideon Baffo Gyasi, third year student of KNUST, Ghana
