Representative democracy
Representative democracy, also known as indirect
democracy, is a type of democracy where elected
persons represent a group of people, in contrast to
direct democracy.[1] Nearly all modern Western-style
democracies function as some type of representative
democracy: for example, the United Kingdom (a unitary
parliamentary constitutional monarchy), India (a
federal parliamentary republic), France (a unitary semi-
presidential republic), and the United States (a federal
presidential republic).[2]
Representative democracy can function as an element
of both the parliamentary and the presidential systems
of government. It typically manifests in a lower
chamber such as the House of Commons of the United
Kingdom, and the Lok Sabha of India, but may be
curtailed by constitutional constraints such as an upper
chamber and judicial review of legislation. Some
political theorists (including Robert Dahl, Gregory
Houston, and Ian Liebenberg) have described
representative democracy as polyarchy.[3][4]
Representative democracy places power in the hands of
representatives who are elected by the people. Political
parties often become central to this form of democracy
if electoral systems require or encourage voters to vote
for political parties or for candidates associated with
political parties (as opposed to voting for individual
representatives).[5]
Referendum
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The ballot of the 1946 referendum in Italy deciding on
having either a republic or a monarchy as the form of
government
A referendum (PL: referendums or referenda) is a
direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or
political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted
on by a representative. This may result in the adoption
of a new policy or specific law, or the referendum may
be only advisory. In some countries, it is synonymous
with or commonly known by other names including
plebiscite, votation, popular consultation, ballot
question, ballot measure, or proposition.
Some definitions of 'plebiscite' suggest it is a type of
vote to change the constitution or government of a
country.[1] The word, 'referendum' is often a catchall,
used for both legislative referrals and initiatives.