democratic interventions

• Democracy


  A form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system or a state of society characterized by formal equality of rights and privileges
• Democratic Practice


  A set of principles and practices that guide how people interact and work together every day to improve their community and to create a more just society
• Democratic practices


  • Suffrage or the right to vote
  • Public assembly and consultation
  • Majority rule and minority rights
  • Conduct of plebiscite to amend a constitutional provision
• Suffrage


  The right to vote
• Public assembly and consultation


  The people's exercise of their right to a peaceful assembly
• Majority rule and minority rights


  The making of binding decisions by a vote of more than one-half of all persons who participate in an election, while protecting the equal rights of the minority
• Plebiscite


  An electoral process for approving or rejecting a change or amendment in the Constitution
• Democratic participation


  The involvement or engagement with something which is freely done, without coercion, and without threat or fear
• Importance of participation in democracy

  • Provides equality and admission to opportunities for all citizens in the government
  • Checks and balances the government to prevent possible abuse of political power
  • Allows citizens to influence and suggest policies and laws through plebiscite
  • Allows the popular majority to oust a representative or politician who holds too much power and abuses it
  • Promotes freedom where citizens enjoy human rights and engage in business and innovations
  • Becomes competent, firm, and stable when the state is ruled with leaders who have dedication and transparency
  • Provides political education to the people telling them of the state affairs
  • Upholds change since the citizens have the opportunity to participate in the government
• Representative democracy


  A political system where the qualified citizens exercise their political power through representatives
• Participatory democracy


  A system that encourages a more active and wider involvement of citizens in decision-making through popular assemblies
• Defined terms

  • Suffrage - right to vote
  • Coercion - force; pressure
  • Plebiscite - an electoral process for approving or rejecting a change or amendment in the Constitution
  • Amendment - the process of altering or amending a law or document