Question

Explain the major features of a democratic government.

Answer 1

Hint Democracy was defined as a form of government of the people by the people and for the people in the famous Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln. Representative and direct democracies are different types of existing democracies.

Complete step by step solution
Democracy is a form of government in which the common citizens have the authority to choose who would govern their legislature. In representative democracies, people elect their representatives to the houses of the Parliament. This sort of democracy, where people choose representatives, can be further divided into Parliamentary forms of democracy and Presidential democracy. Some of the important features are:
1. Any democratic Union is required to have the following features at least two be called an ideal democracy.
2. Whenever any law or policy is adopted or annulled, all the members of the population should have the opportunity to present their views about the same and make it known to the other members. A democracy requires the effective participation of its members.
3. Every member of a democracy should have an equal opportunity to cast an equal vote for or against a policy that is being adopted by the government.
4. Any ideal democracy should guarantee its members fundamental rights.
5. Every member that is supposed to cast a vote to elect their representatives should be well informed about the possible alternatives to the policy and the likely consequences.
6. Democracy is supposed to include all its members and treat them equally.
7. Only the people have the right to decide the agendas discussed in the Parliament and the manner in which they are presented.

Note The term democracy first emerged in the fifth century BC in the Greek city-states of Athens. Democracy can be roughly translated as "the rule of the people" and it emerged in contrast to the word aristocracy which referred to the rule of an elite.