What is Democracy?
Democracy is 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 free electoral system or a state of society characterized by formal equality of rights and privileges. It originates from the Greek word demos, which means “people”, and kratos, which means ‘strength or power.”
What is Democratic Practice?
Democratic Practice is 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.
What are some democratic practices?
A. Suffrage or the right to vote. It gives the people the opportunity to exercise sovereignty by choosing the candidates who will govern and serve them. Eligible voters have the right to elect the government of his/her country by secret vote. It is only fair that they have a direct hand in choosing the officials.
B. Public assembly and consultation. “The Public Assembly Act of 1985,” makes sure that the people’s exercise their right to a peaceful assembly. Citizens have a set of rights and responsibilities, including the right to participate in decisions that affect public welfare. This act stipulates that rallies, demonstrations, marches, public meetings, processions, or parades 6 (collectively referred to as public assembly) can be held in public places to express opinion, to protest against, or to air grievances on certain issues.
C. Majority rule and minority rights. It is the making of binding decisions by a vote of more than one-half of all persons who participate in an election. Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States, expressed the concept of democracy in 1801 in his first Inaugural Address. He said All…will bear in mind this sacred principle. That though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect and to violate would be oppression.
D. Conduct of plebiscite to amend a constitutional provision. The Constitution embodies the fundamental laws of the land from which all other laws should be in accord with. The change in a provision of the constitution, such as increasing the number of years of term of office of the president, cannot be carried without the approval of the people or general constituencies in a process called plebiscite. A plebiscite is an electoral process for approving or rejecting a change or amendment in the Constitution. It is in the process of direct vote-say yes or no; accept or reject.
Democratic participation is the involvement or engagement with something which is freely done, without coercion, and without threat or fear.
Importance of Participation in Democracy
1. Democracy provides equality and admission to opportunities for all its citizen in the government;
2. checks and balances the government to prevent possible abuse of political power from the officials;
3. allows citizens to influence and suggest policies and laws through plebiscite in selecting delegates or representatives.
4. allows the popular majority to oust a representative or a politician who hold too much power and abuses it;
5. promotes freedom where citizen enjoy human rights, allows people to engage the business and innovations;
6. becomes competent, firm, and stable when the state is ruled with leaders who have dedication and transparency;
7. provides political education to the people telling them of the state affairs; and
8. upholds change since the citizens have the opportunity to participate in the involvement in the government
Representative and Participatory Democracies
Democracy has several forms. Two of the most popular types are representative democracy and participatory democracy.
Representative Democracy In the modern period where large populations usually form societies, Representative Democracy (also called indirect democracy) is observed to be more popularly exercised. It is a political system where the qualified citizens exercise their political power through representatives. The sovereign power remains on the citizens but its exercise is delegated to the representatives they elect. By extension, the citizens, through their votes, allow these representatives to make choices and decisions on their behalf.
Participatory Democracy Quite similar to representative democracy is participatory democracy which also encourages a more active and wider involvement of citizens. While representative democracy motivates individual citizens to contribute to policy making, participatory democracy offers more opportunities for members of the population to contribute to decision-making through popular assemblies. It has variants. In a direct democracy, all eligible citizens and qualified voters directly or personally involve themselves in making political decisions. In the Philippines, one popular demonstration of participatory democracy was the EDSA People Power of 1986. Through the people’s direct involvement in a series of protests, the dictatorial rule of President Ferdinand Marcos was toppled down.