What is Democracy?

Why
Democracy?
Grade 9
Class Notes
 Concepts Covered

1 What is Democracy? Why Democracy?

What is
Democracy? What is Features of
Why democracy? democracy
Democracy?

Arguments
Why Arguments for
against
democracy? democracy
democracy

2 Case studies to understand features of democracies

Pakistan Lack of
under electoral
general competition in
Pervez China and
Musharraf Mexico

Case Studies
of Countries

Limited voting
rights in Saudi Electoral
Arabia, Estonia malpractice in
and Fiji Zimbabwe
 Pakistan under General
Pervez Musharraf

In Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf led a

military coup in October 1999 and overthrew
the democratically elected government.
Musharraf declared himself the ‘Chief
Executive’ of the country and later changed
his designation to President.
In 2002, he issued a ‘Legal Framework’ that
amended the Constitution of Pakistan,
granting the President the power to dismiss
national and provincial assemblies.

Can Pakistan be considered a democracy?

No!

Why?
Because though elections were held to central and provincial
assemblies the ultimate decision making power rested with the
military officers and General Pervez Musharraf.

Conclusion:
In a democracy the final decision-making power must rest with
those elected by the people.

Important Questions

Question 1: Which Pakistani general led a military coup in

October 199 ? (1 mark)
Question 2: Pakistan under the General Pervez Musharraf can
not called a democracy. Why? (5 marks)
Question 3: What was the ‘Legal Framework Order’ passed by
Pervez Musharraf in I August 2002?? (3 marks)
 Elections in China
Elections are held in China every 5 years
for electing the country’s parliament,
called the Quanguo Renmin Daibiao
(National People’s Congress). It has nearly
3,000 members elected from all over
China while some members are elected
by the army.
However, one needs to be a member of
the Chinese Communist Party or eight
smaller parties allied to it to contest
elections

Elections in Mexico
Since its independence in 1930, Mexico has held elections every 6
years to elect its President.
But until the year 2000 every election was won by a party called
PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party). Opposition parties never
managed to win due to electoral malpractices carried out by PRI.
Media largely ignored the activities of opposition political parties
except to criticise them.

Think It Over

Though elections were held regularly in both China and Mexico

and representatives elected by the people had the final decision
making power, can we label these countries as democratic?
The answer is no.
In China, the elections do not offer the people any serious choice.
They must choose the ruling party and the candidates approved
by it. That is why, we cannot say that China is a democratic
country.
In Mexico, people seemed to really have a choice but in practice
they had no choice. There was no way the ruling party could be
defeated, even if people were against it. These are not fair
elections.
 Universal Adult
Franchise

The principle of Universal Adult

Franchise states that all adult
citizens of a country must be able to
exercise their right to vote without
any limitation or discrimination on
the basis of caste, creed, sex, religion
or any other parameter. Further
every vote must carry equal value. In
short it stands for one person, one
vote, one value.

Examples of countries where Universal Adult

Franchise was denied

• Women in Saudi Arabia did not have voting rights until 2015.
• The vote of an indigenous Fijian has more value than that of an
Indo-Fijian.
• The citizenship rules in Estonia make it difficult for Russian
minorities to be granted the right to vote.

Conclusion:
In a democracy elections must be conducted in a free and fair
manner where all adult citizens are allowed to vote without
discrimination and each vote must carry equal value.

Important Questions

Question 1: What kind of election constitutes a democratic

election? (1 mark)
Question 2: What does ‘one person, one vote, one value’ mean?
Name the countries who deny the equal right to
vote. (5 marks)
Question 3: Though elections were held regularly in Mexico
since 1930, it did not present an example of true
democracy until 2000. State the reason.? (3 marks)
 Failure of a Popularly
Elected Government

In Zimbabwe, since it attained independence

in 1980, elections have been held regularly and
always won by ZANU-PF, the party that led the
freedom struggle. Its leader, President Robert
Mugabe, though popular used unfair practices
in elections. His government changed the
constitution several times to increase the
powers of the President and make him less
accountable. Opposition party workers were
harassed and public protests and
demonstrations against the government were
declared illegal. Television and radio were
controlled by the government and gave only
the ruling party’s version.

Conclusion:
A democratically elected government can not do whatever it likes,
simply because it has won elections. They must work within the
constitutional framework and ensure citizen’s rights. They are to
remain accountable to the citizens and allow media and opposition
to work in a healthy manner.

Did You Know?

The Constitution of India empowers

the Supreme Court to strike down
any law or policy passed by the
central or state legislative assembly
if it goes against the basic
framework of the constitution.
 Did You Know?

The first general elections were held between October 1951 and
February 1952. About 1874 candidates and 53 parties contested
for the elections.

Summary Definition: Democracy

Form of
government in
which rulers are
elected by people
Rulers elected by the
people hold the final
decision-making
power
Elections are held
at regular intervals
and in a free and
fair manner Elections offer a
choice between
candidates and a
fair opportunity to
change the existing
All citizens have the rulers
right to vote and
each vote is
considered with
The government
same weightage
thus elected is
limited by basic
rules of the
constitution and
citizen’s rights
 Why Democracy?

Arguments for Democracy Arguments against Democracy

More accountable form of Political instability because of

government frequent changes in leadership

Improved quality of
Delayed decision-making
decision-making

Provides methods to deal with No scope for morality as it

differences and conflicts and involves political competition
accommodate diversity and power play

Enhances the dignity Political leaders are often

of citizens as all are considered disconnected from the citizens,
equal before law which may results in bad
decisions

Provides opportunities to Increased electoral competition

correct mistakes leads to corruption

Broader Meaning of Democracy

Democracy is not just a form of government

but an ideal or a principle that entails taking
into consideration the viewpoints of all the
people who would be affected by a decision.

Those who are not powerful have the same

say in taking decisions as those with power.

High Order Thinking Question

Question 1: ‘ No country is a perfect democracy as democracy

in itself is an evolving ideal’. Substantiate the statement with
suitable examples. (3 marks)