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Julianne
Julianne
Julianne
One of the best aspects of democracy as the best form of government is that rule
of law prevails. Democracy is founded on the primacy of the law and the exercise of the
human rights (Bassiouni, 2005). In a democratic state, no one is above the law and all
are equal before the law. Equality of citizenship entails that all persons are protected
against discrimination of any ground such as color, race, language, sex, religion or other
status (Beetham, 2006). It further requires the progressive elimination of the obstacles
which hinder any groups or categories of citizens from exercising a voice or participating
social rights, such as access to education and basic income. It is understood as a form
of government and way of life in which nobody rules dispense with such fetishes.
Although, leaders are not thought to be similar with the roles they portray. Furthermore,
the rule of law as a basis for democratic governance includes not only the supremacy
of the law, but a democratic basis for law that makes the law legitimate. The basis is
that laws represent the collective will. In societies where the rule if law is observed,
virtually all citizens obey laws, even when doing so contravenes their personal interests.
This willingness is not based solely on the threat of sanctions; it also arises from the
citizens' recognition that laws are arrived at in a manner set out in a constitutional order
and subject to social input. Therefore, the laws represent the collective will. In that
sense, they are "fair" and approximate the common good. Hence, citizens generally
respect the authority of law. Legitimacy can be achieved through other means.
On the contrary, lack of legitimacy can occur for a variety of reasons. At the most
fundamental level, when people have not reached a consensus on the basic boundaries
or structure of the state, there is no legitimate and the resulting laws have no legitimacy
(USAID, 2010). Lack of legitimacy may also result when the process of proposing,
elite faction, or its members may be so patently corrupt that there is no effective social
input, and laws serve the interests of only a few rather than expressing the collective will
(Beevi, 2007). Besides, in emerging democracies, there are often questions about the
democratic regimes.
In addition, It is the right of citizens to have a say in the decisions that affect their
lives, on a basis of equality with others, then it requires a framework of other rights to
make this basic political right effective. These are the familiar rights and freedoms of
concentrations of media ownership. The right of free association includes the right to
found new associations for economic, social and cultural purposes, including political
properties. The right of peaceful assembly entails the right of free movement within and
between countries. None of these rights can be exercised effectively without liberty and
security of the citizen, and the guarantee of due legal process. Democracy is thus
inseparable from fundamental human rights and freedoms, and form the responsibility
to respect the same rights and freedoms for others (Basskhm, 2008).
As many recent writers have stressed, the principle of equal citizenship has to
allow room for difference - of belief, of life-style, of identity. Societies today are
now acknowledged democratic principle that such diversity should be welcomed, and
where necessary given protection, on the basis of equal respect and on the condition
that equal respect is shown to others. And where diversity gives rise to disagreement or
conflict, the democratic method for its resolution is through discussion and dialogue,
rather than imposition or coercion. Equal citizenship thus entails a complex form of
that affect their lives, thus constitutes the foundation of democracy. To give such rights
infringement of democratic principle, even though they may run counter to the
necessary procedural device for resolving disagreement when other methods have
been exhausted, rather than the acme of democratic perfection. Moreover, since its
Therefore, Democracy is not a right in itself but rather an integral system comprising
certain norms, the core of which lies in the concepts of free debate and informed choice.
It also generates rights and freedoms, all of which aim to secure conditions and promote
channels which enable all individuals to exert their influence and control over their
ANALYSIS
over the governments own wishes. The law is merely a tool of the powerful to control
others. As the rule of law is a set of enduring legal principles that are typically embodied